TUESDAY, 2 MARCH 1999 A Bill for an Act to amend

2 Mar 1999 Legislative Assembly 1

TUESDAY, 2 MARCH 1999

Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe)read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m.

ASSENT TO BILLS

Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourablemembers, I have to report that I have receivedfrom His Excellency the Governor a letter inrespect of assent to certain Bills, the contentsof which will be incorporated in the records ofParliament—

GOVERNMENT HOUSE

QUEENSLAND

1 December 1998

The Honourable R. K. Hollis, MLA

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly

Parliament House

George Street

BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Mr Speaker

I hereby acquaint the Legislative Assembly thatthe following Bills, having been passed by theLegislative Assembly and having beenpresented for the Royal Assent, were assentedto in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on 27November 1998:

A Bill for an Act to amend the Valuation ofLand Act 1944, and for other purposesA Bill for an Act to amend the IndustrialDevelopment Act 1963

A Bill for an Act to amend the DairyIndustry Act 1993

A Bill for an Act to establish the Universityof the Sunshine Coast, and for otherpurposes

A Bill for an Act to amend the SupremeCourt of Queensland Act 1991 and theCoroners Act 1958

A Bill for an Act to amend the CorrectiveServices (Administration) Act 1988 andJuvenile Justice Act 1992

A Bill for an Act to amend the StatutoryInstruments Act 1992

A Bill for an Act to amend the FossickingAct 1994 and the Mineral Resources Act1989 for native title purposes, and toamend the Native Title (Queensland) Act1993

A Bill for an Act to amend the Trading(Allowable Hours) Act 1990

A Bill for an Act to amend the Building andConstruction Industry (Portable LongService Leave) Act 1991

A Bill for an Act to amend legislation aboutprimary industriesA Bill for an Act to allow visiting healthpractitioners to provide health careservices in the State for special eventswithout becoming registered under Statelaw, and for other purposes

A Bill for an Act to amend Actsadministered by the Minister for Transportand Minister for Main Roads, and for otherpurposes

A Bill for an Act to amend the Health Act1937 and other various Acts

The Bills are hereby transmitted to theLegislative Assembly, to be numbered andforwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment,in the manner required by law.

Yours sincerely(sgd) Peter Arnison

Governor

MULGRAVE BY-ELECTION

Return of Writ

Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, Ihave to report that the writ issued by HisExcellency the Governor on 10 November1998 for the election of a member to serve inthe Legislative Assembly for the electoraldistrict of Mulgrave has been returned with acertificate endorsed thereon by the returningofficer of the election, on 5 December 1998, ofFrederick Warren Pitt to serve as suchmember.

Member Sworn

Mr Pitt was introduced, took the oath ofallegiance, and subscribed the roll.

OFFICE OF SPEAKER

Statement of Recurrent ExpenditureMr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I

lay upon the table of the House the statementof recurrent expenditure for the HonourableN. Turner, Speaker of the LegislativeAssembly, for 1997-98.

MEMBERS' ETHICS AND PARLIAMENTARYPRIVILEGES COMMITTEE

Matter of Privilege

Mr SPEAKER: I wish to advise the Housethat on 19 November I referred a matter ofprivilege raised by the member forToowoomba North to the Members' Ethics andParliamentary Privileges Committee for itsconsideration.

2 Motion of Condolence 2 Mar 1999

MOTION OF CONDOLENCE

Deaths of Mr R. T. McLean, MLA, andMr L. J. Yewdale, MLA

Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier) (9.36 a.m.), by leave, withoutnotice: I move—

"1. That this House desires to placeon record its appreciation of the servicesrendered to this State by the late RonaldMcLean, a former member of theParliament of Queensland and a formerMinister of the Crown, and by LesYewdale, a former member of theParliament of Queensland;

2. That Mr Speaker be requestedto convey to the families of the deceasedgentlemen the above resolution, togetherwith an expression of the sympathy andsorrow of the members of the Parliamentof Queensland, in the loss they havesustained."

Ronald Thomas McLean was a true Laborstalwart who battled injustice and fought forthe underdog for most of his life. He was bornon 28 December 1938 in Townsville, the sonof Edna and Ken, an electrical labourer. Lackof services in regional Queensland resulted inthe family deciding to move to Brisbane a fewyears later to allow his brother Alan to attendthe School for the Deaf. Ron was educated inBrisbane, at Bulimba State School andBrisbane Industrial High School, beforecompleting his carpentry apprenticeship withthe Department of Public Works. It was one ofRon's great delights that he was able to returnto this department in 1989 as the Minister. Itwas also a tribute to the man that he stillspoke the same language as the carpenters,shared their concerns and vigorously opposedall moves to cut down the number ofapprenticeships being offered by the StateGovernment through his department.

In 1964 he decided to become awaterside worker, and spent 16 years on theBrisbane waterfront. Ron was a committedmember of the Waterside Workers Federation,serving as a Federal councillor and eventuallybecoming President and Vigilant Officer of theBrisbane Branch. He often spoke of thoserough and tough days of fighting for betterconditions for wharfies, and believed that thishelped to shape his character. He later said—

"I think I learnt everything on thewaterfront. I loved the guys I mixed with. Iloved their principles. I loved the way theylooked after one another—their feeling fortheir fellow man."

Unfortunately, it left him with another legacy—deadly fibres in his lungs from many shiftsspent in dust-filled holds shifting cargoes ofasbestos. In later life it angered him thatQueensland wharfies had been working in life-threatening conditions even after warningsabout asbestos had been released. He toldhow he had discovered that handling asbestoshad been banned in American ports but thatthis information had not been available to theQueensland wharfies. During that period heplayed for Valleys, represented Brisbane in theTrades and Labor Cup competition againstToowoomba and Ipswich, and wascaptain/coach of the Wharfies Rugby Leagueteam in the late sixties/early seventies.

Ron's commitment to serving otherpeople led him into politics. In 1980 hebecame the member for Bulimba and servedon the backbench through a difficult period forthe Labor Party. Ron was the spokesman onseveral portfolios, including Employment andIndustrial Affairs, and Water Resources andMaritime Services. In Government, Ron servedwith distinction as Minister for AdministrativeServices from 1989 until his retirement frompublic life in 1992. While other Governmentswere getting rid of their day-labour forces, Ronstuck resolutely by the men and womenemployed in the day-labour force by hisdepartment throughout regional Queensland.

He intended to carry on as a Minister, buta medical check revealed the asbestos in hislungs. Faced with the risk of asbestosis, Rondecided to devote what time he had left in lifeto his wife, Anne, and to his long-term dreamof breeding thoroughbreds on a property thatthey had bought at Landsborough. Ron andAnne took a block of bushland and turned itinto a homestead with stable and yards.During those six years he held the positions ofpresident of the Mooloolah Country Club andpresident of the Sunshine Coast RacehorseOwners Association. Ron is survived by hiswife, Anne, and family. On behalf of theParliament, I extend my sympathies and thoseof the House to them.

I want to say that, like many people in thisHouse, I knew Ron well. He was one of thosepeople who was well regarded by all sectionsof the Labor Party and all sections of thisParliament. That is a rare thing indeed inpolitics, as we all know. He was the sort ofperson that, if you knew him, you loved RonMcLean. He was one of those decent peoplewho will be missed by all of us.

Today I also need to highlight the passingof Les Yewdale. Les was also a Labor stalwartwho worked hard for the people of

2 Mar 1999 Motion of Condolence 3

Rockhampton for much of his life. He died on1 January, aged 70. He was born on 30 April1928 in Rockhampton, the son of a cabinetand mattress maker. Among the schools heattended were St Mary's School and theChristian Brothers College. Les knew theproblems faced by many of the people hewent on to represent because he put in thehard yards himself, working as a meat worker,a tradesman's assistant, a station hand, abuilder's labourer and a watersideworker—something he had in common withRon.

He was secretary of the RockhamptonTrades and Labour Council from 1959 till hebecame a member of Parliament in 1972 andwas also President and Secretary of theRockhampton Waterside Workers Union. Onthe sporting front, Les was President ofRockhampton and Central Queensland RugbyLeague Clubs and played a key role in localgreyhound racing. He was very well known incentral Queensland with his sporting links,particularly Rugby League. He was patron, vicepatron and vice president of innumerablesports and charitable organisations.

Les was elected as the member forRockhampton North in 1972. Traditionally, newmembers devote their maiden speeches toelectoral matters, but Les took an in-depthlook at education initiatives throughoutAustralia and he attacked the then Bjelke-Petersen Government for lagging behind therest of the country. He then moved on toattack the Government about a lack ofhousing commission accommodation forpeople in Rockhampton and in centralQueensland.

Les continued to represent his electoratein similar style until he retired in 1989. In thistime he was secretary of the parliamentaryLabor Party from 1977 to 1988 and acted asOpposition spokesman on a wide range ofportfolios. He married Margaret "Marge"McCulloch in 1949 and has a son, Kevin, anda daughter, Karen. On behalf of theGovernment and all members of thisParliament, I pass on our condolences to thefamilies of both gentlemen.

Hon. R. E. BORBIDGE (SurfersParadise—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition)(9.42 a.m.): In rising to second the condolencemotion moved by the Premier, I would say atthe outset that it is always a privilege and asad duty to speak in this place as weremember our colleagues on both sides of theHouse who have given great service to theState of Queensland. Today I pay tribute toRon McLean and to Les Yewdale, firstly, in

respect of Les' contribution to the Parliamentand to his electorate and to the State.

I think it is probably fair to say that he wasnot necessarily a high-profile member of thisHouse. His talent was elsewhere. He knew itand that was also the mark of the man. Hewas a local member—a consummate localmember—and he was proud of it, and so heshould have been. The electors ofRockhampton North lost a good local memberwhen he retired at the 1989 State election. Hehad served them for 17 years, a proud recordin itself.

When he made his final speech in thisChamber on 19 October 1989, he said that hewould like to refer to the forthcoming elections.He said—

"I will be delighted to return to thisplace as a visitor and enjoy the thrill of aLabor Government on the Treasurybenches."

No-one on this side of the House then or nowwould want to have denied him the chance toexperience that thrill once polling day was outof the way. That is the true spirit of democraticpolitics and the Australian way. It was, indeed,Les' personal tragedy that after 17 years inParliament, including the cricket team era of1974-77 when the ALP had only 11 members,he felt the need to retire on the eve of hisparty attaining Government.

While it is true, as I have just remarked,that Les Yewdale was not a high-profilemember of Parliament, he scaled the heightsin another direction within this House. He wascaptain of the Queensland parliamentarybowls team and, as many have cause toremember, bowled a mean end in theCommonwealth-wide parliamentary bowlschampionship. The traditional status of bowlsin the parliamentary system, like much else inthis place, transcends the practice of partisancompetition. On the greens it wasQueenslanders versus the rest, with many firmfriendships made across party lines. Outsidethe sphere of parliamentary sport, Les was alifetime Rugby League supporter. Indeed, hewas a life member of the QRL and a followerof racing.

It is good to be reminded, even though itis in this instance by the sad passing of aformer member of this House, that politics isnot necessarily the only game in town. Asmany of us in the present House have reasonto reflect, friendships can and do cross partylines. Mutual respect for opponents as muchas for people within one's own party or alliedparties generally does. Les Yewdale spentmany years in this place as an effective local


member. He made many friends and mostcertainly drew respect from all of hiscolleagues. His successor in RockhamptonNorth, now the Minister for Public Works andHousing, paid generous tribute to him in hismaiden speech in this Chamber on 7 March1990. I am sure that the Minister will not mindmy quoting a little from what he said on thatoccasion. He said—

"It is little wonder that he is held insuch high regard both inside and outsidethe electorate by all those who know him."

I am among those who knew Les Yewdaleand I can attest to the truth of thesesentiments. I held him in high regard as aworthy opponent. On behalf of the Opposition,I extend our deepest sympathy to his family onhis passing and I place on record anacknowledgment of honour to a life well lived.

Ron McLean was a Labor veteran whoalways stood up for what he believed in. Herepresented the seat of Bulimba for 12 years,the seat now held by the Government DeputyWhip. During that time, Ron McLean alwaysrepresented his people with a great passion. Inthe great tradition of parliamentarygovernment, he was first and foremost a localmember. When he died last month at an ageyounger than is the average nowadays, hewas rightly mourned by his friends, political andpersonal, and my colleague the member forClayfield represented the Oppositionleadership at the State funeral held atDoomben Racecourse.

It was often said by his opponents thatRon was a hard man. I believe that that wasalways meant as a compliment. Ron foughthard for his beliefs and for those he felt hadbeen disadvantaged or discriminated against.There is much honour in that, in holding true toone's lights. On an occasion such as this it isproper that this honour in him is noted.

Ron had a varied parliamentary career,one in which he often made himself noticed—and notable—in the House and more broadlyin the political environment. He had come fromthe school of hard knocks via the WatersideWorkers Federation and, as the Premierindicated, was a son of Townsville. He wasbound to make his mark with a pedigree likethat. Ron joined the Cabinet in the first GossGovernment and served as Minister forAdministrative Services from December 1989until September 1992.

We on this side of the House rememberRon as a big-hearted man, ever ready to becombative in whatever cause it was that hepursued, but also as a man who valuedfriendship and who, away from the heat of

political debate, was a true parliamentarycolleague of one and all. I can remember oneof the great occasions which I think saidvolumes about Ron McLean. We had had anall night sitting. From memory, the legislationwas an Aboriginal land Bill being presided overby the then Minister, the now member forKennedy, Mr Katter. There had beennumerous divisions during the course of thenight. Parliament had sat on and there wasconsiderable debate during the course of theevening. Parliament sat and sat and sat.Come the next morning, at breakfast time theHouse was still in session. Ron thought thesewere absolutely appalling working conditionsand he rose to a point of order and movedthat the House adjourn for breakfast. TheSpeaker of the day took a dim view of that andtold Ron to sit down, but Ron was persistentand paid the price. He was subsequentlyasked to leave the Chamber, but as he wentout he was muttering—in fact, I think he wasshouting—"Mr Speaker, everyone is entitled tosome conditions." I think the goodwill, kind-heartedness and basic decency of RonMcLean was seen in that particular episode.

His interest in community affairsrepresented almost a lifelong crusade. It wassomething on which he was never lacking inenergy. So too with sport, in particular footballand golf, and of course fishing—a pastime hehonoured with close attention and a wealth ofknowledge.

It can certainly be said that Queenslandwould have been much the poorer withouthaving had the services of Ron McLean inState politics. I extend to his family and to hismany friends the sympathy of members onthis side of the House.

Hon. R. E. SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works and Minister forHousing) (9.51 a.m.): There is a sense of ironyin what we are doing today. Les Yewdale andRon McLean were great mates and were quiteinseparable in this place. I guess it is fittingthat we send them both off in this way today.

Les Yewdale was my predecessor in thisplace. One could not have asked for a bettermentor than he was. I knew him all my life. Hewas a person of great courage and greatcharacter. He was a decent human being whocared much about others. He cared about hisfamily and he loved his sport.

Les was one of those people blessed withthe ability to compete in any sport he chose toturn his hand to. He was an excellentfootballer. He played for Rockhampton on anumber of occasions. He played for CentralQueensland. He played for Fitzroys and Norths


in the city. When he got too old to play heturned his hand to the administration of RugbyLeague in Rockhampton and ended up atrustee of Browne Park and a member of theboard of the Rockhampton Rugby League.Indeed, he was president of that organisationfor a good part of the time he was a memberof this Parliament.

As the Leader of the Oppositionindicated, Les was in this place for 17 years.Through all of the frustration of Opposition, thesad thing was that he was robbed of theopportunity of being in Government. I alsoread his final speech in this place, when hesaid, "I rise in this place for the last time." Thatspeech was about the people who surroundedhim during that time. Right to the very end hewas a very generous human being.

He was part of the Burns "cricket team".As one of 11 representatives of a partyabsolutely decimated at that election, with veryfew resources Yewdale was immediately ashadow Minister with a number of portfolios.He once told me how he spoke at 3 o'clock inthe morning on a flour Bill he knew absolutelynothing about. I have read the speech and Ihave to say that he managed to make a fairfist of it.

Those were tough times to be endured,and he did endure it. In fact, it was no smalleffort on his part that in that 1974 election,when every Labor electorate in the Statesuffered huge swings against, his vote was theonly one to actually improve. There was ahistoric reason for that. Those who arestudents of history will recall that in 1972 theendorsement of Yewdale's predecessor, oneMervyn Herbert Thackeray, was removed andYewdale stepped into the breach. Thackeraycontested the seat, and it was a nail-bitingfinish. In 1974 Yewdale got the old Labor voteback and improved the seat. That in no smallway shows the talent of Yewdale to touch hisfellow human being.

As I said, because of illness he wasrobbed of much of his retirement. He wascertainly robbed of enjoying the privilege of aLabor Government, although he did get backhere on one occasion. He came to a pastmembers lunch where he, Ronnie McLeanand I sat at the same table. That was the lasttime Les ever came to this place. Accordingly,there was a great deal of sadness in hisretirement. I note Les' old mate Bob Scott inthe gallery. Bob is another mate both Ronnieand Les were inseparable from. It is pleasingto see you here today, Bob.

I say to Marge, Kevin and Karen: youhave lost a husband and a dad. The rest of us

have lost a good mate and a true warrior in theLabor ranks—a person who came out of thetrade union movement, much like RonnieMcLean came out of the waterside workersunion, and who was never frightened to tellpeople that he voted Labor, that he stood upfor his principles and that he believed nothingwas too good for the worker.

I turn now to Ron McLean, because thatwas his guiding influence: nothing is too goodfor the worker. He lived his life accordingly.From a very early age Ron fought injustice. Hisbrother, Alan, was born with hearing andspeech impediments. His father, Ken, wholater became an official in the Electrical TradesUnion, moved the family down from Townsvilleso that Alan could attend the deaf school. Ronalways claimed that his ability as a pugilistwent back to those days, when he stood up forhis brother on the way home from school. Nodoubt all members would have experienced atsome time or another how cruel children canbe to other children. Ron was fighting injusticein those very early years and it was somethingthat was to stay with him for the rest of hisdays.

First and foremost, Ron was a person whounderstood black and white. Either you were inor you were out. There were no shades ofgrey; you were either right or wrong. He livedhis life pretty much that way. The Leader ofthe Opposition commented that Ron was atough man, and he was in that regard. He heldvery principled views and those principledviews required him to analyse or distilsomething down to a blackness or awhiteness. If you were on the black side ofsomething, as far as he was concerned youwere either a flea, a thing or a maggot. If youwere the latter it was goodbye, Mr Chips. Thatwas the end of the round for you.

Ron McLean was one of those peoplewho sought to come into Parliament for all theright reasons. He is in the same frame asYewdale in that regard. The traditional reasonfor a Labor politician to come here was to takefrom the industrial wing and bring it intoParliament, in the same way as our forefathersin 1891 sought to do. That was the reasonYewdale was here and that was the reasonMcLean was here.

I have to say: Ron did not enjoy thisplace. He did not like being a member ofParliament. As he described it, he was verymuch railroaded into the duty by his mates onthe waterfront. He had fought things such asasbestosis and had fought for reasonableconditions for people on the waterfront all hisworking life. He understood that struggle, but


he understood the futility of it when, as thePremier pointed out, three years previous to ithappening in Australia the United StatesGovernment and some EuropeanGovernments banned asbestos. Yet here hewas some three years later still eating his lunchdown the hold of a ship with the snow ofasbestos falling around the workplace. He saw,as his mates on the waterfront saw, that therewas only one way to change that, and thatwas by getting into Parliament and havingsome say on behalf of those people.

Ron McLean, and Yewdale for thatmatter, always took a strong interest in thingssuch as workplace health and safety, becausethey understood just what it was like and theynever forgot. They resolved to continue to fightfor that cause right to the very end—especiallyin Ron's case when he became a Minister,when he was in a position to do somethingabout it.

As the Premier said, Ron McLean startedhis working life as an apprentice carpenter inthe Works Department. He finished his workinglife for that department as the Minister with theresponsibility. In anybody's view that is a fairsort of achievement. He also never, ever forgotthe start that the building trade gave him, andhis apprenticeship, and where that led him inhis life. He was eager to repeat thatexperience for other young people.

I must pause here to apologise for PatPurcell, who is absent from this place todaydue to a bereavement in his family. He wouldcertainly, as Ron's replacement, want to say afew words about Ron. There are a couple oftributes that have come in that I think areworth placing on record. I notice that two ofRon's good mates, John Lutteral and John"Skinny" Conway, are also in the gallery to paytribute to him.

I have mentioned the asbestosis whichultimately took Ron from this place and, nodoubt, hastened his departure from this mortalcoil. He never, ever stopped fighting for thatcause and for compensation for the victimsthereof. I have also mentioned Ron's pugilisticability, which is renowned. One of the areasthat he liked to frequent was the WharfiesClub, and that is not a place for the faint-hearted. It had tiled floors, for obviousreasons; it enabled them to be hosed out thenext day. That was a place where nicetieswere dispensed with, doors were closed andhuman rings were formed. As a result of takingthe law into two hands, I guess, the matterwas resolved and nothing was said.

One of the things that Ronnie wasinvolved in, ironically enough, was the peace

movement. He was a great opponent of theVietnam War, as indeed were the watersideworkers. One of the things that one can sayabout the waterside workers union is that theyhave taken up every social justice causepossible, and they still do that today. Whetherit is international conditions, nucleardisarmament or whatever, one will find thewharfies dipping into their pockets, holding upships and whatever else is required to supporttheir cause.

During the Vietnam War, the wharfiestook a very strong view about it. There werequite a number of Vietnamese nationals inBrisbane at that time, and they decided totake the law into their own hands and proceeddown to the Wharfies Club armed withnunchakus and various other devices, wantingto square the ledger. But they found that,although they advocated peace, the wharfieswere quite capable of doing the reverse, andRonnie was at the forefront of that. Certainlywhen the Wharfies Club went, there was agreat deal of history that went with it. Ronniecertainly missed his mateship there, but it didmove down to the Breakfast Creek Hotel, andhe was able to get down there and have abeer from time to time. When the Leader ofthe Opposition was referring to Ron as beingup all night, no doubt he was agitated as aresult of a heavy intake of coffee during theevening and at breakfast.

There are a couple of good stories aboutRon that I would like to relate. The BirdsvilleSchool swimming pool is a good one. Ron wasout in Barcaldine when he was a Minister, andhe was met by the P & C at Birdsville, whostated that they were never, ever going to beable to afford a swimming pool. The reasonwas that, just as they would get to the amountof money that they needed for a subsidy, theprice would go up. So in true wharfie's style,Ronnie said, "We have to fix this", although hewould have used words that were a bitstronger than that. He went back and saw histhen director-general, Ross Dunning, andinstructed him to fix it. And indeed it was fixed,and today there is a swimming pool inBirdsville because Ron McLean listened. Hehad that common person's touch. Ironically,Ron remarked that we would not pick up onevote there, that we would never win the boothat Birdsville, and we never have. But that didnot stop him making sure that kids werelooked after wherever they were. This wassomething that dominated him in terms ofbeing a Minister. "You cannot hold kidsresponsible for the way their parents vote", heused to say. I might just add that the people ofBirdsville have written to Ron's widow, Anne.


Amongst what else they had to say, they saidthat he made an outstanding contribution toimproving the quality of life for Queenslanders.He certainly did for the people of Birdsville.

The Wolffdene dam was another storyinvolving Ron. Former Premier Wayne Gossspoke about that at the funeral, and I do notintend to go over how we delivered the policyand made the policy in that regard. Ron tookup that fight as the shadow Minister of theday. Again, the people in that part of the worldhave not forgotten Ron, and they have askedto place on record their condolences as welland their statement that he hated things notaboveboard. "He would stand up and fightagainst them" was their comment on him. Thatgets back to what I said at the outset. He wasa man who understood black and white.

Ron McLean's and Les Yewdale'spassing is to be mourned by this side ofpolitics. They were a breed of people who keptus going all those years in Opposition. Duringall those years in the wilderness, those peoplenever lost their heart or their spirit. Whereverthey are today, I am sure that they carry theirspirit with them. The world is a sadder place forboth their passing. To Anne, I offer thecondolences of this House. Wherever you are,old friend, sleep well.

Dr WATSON (Moggill—LP) (Leader of theLiberal Party) (10.06 a.m.): It is also myprivilege to rise to support the motion ofcondolence, moved by the Premier andseconded by the Leader of the Opposition, forRon McLean and Les Yewdale. We have justheard an extremely colourful background onboth of those gentlemen. There is no doubtthat the current Minister for Public Works andMinister for Housing has an in-depthunderstanding of their contributions to theLabor Party and to this place as both aMinister and, of course, a member for thearea. It is fitting that Ron McLean raisedthoroughbred horses, because there is nodoubt in my mind that Ron himself was aLabor thoroughbred. I think that is what theMinister has just outlined.

The fact that Ron rose all the way from anapprentice in the Department of Works to theMinister of the same department is an inspiringstory that should serve as a really goodexample for our young people today. It showsthat, no matter what your background, you canplay a part in the running of this State if youare willing to put in the effort. Wayne Gosssaid that many people underestimated RonMcLean's abilities. Wayne Goss gave RonMcLean the task of making the Department ofAdministrative Services a more commercial

operation. I think it was a Ministry that he filledwonderfully well. He performed a difficult taskvery well.

Ron McLean was a Minister during myfirst term in Parliament. I found him anexcellent person to deal with as a newmember. I am glad that John Lutteral is heretoday, and the member for Logan, JohnMickel, who was the senior policy adviser toRon McLean at that time. I can relate to whatthe Minister for Public Works and Minister forHousing said a moment ago. I had someissues with some schoolkids in UpperBrookfield in my electorate. One day, Ron andthe two Johns and I were able to sit down,without any rancour or politics—and they didnot vote that way, either—and resolve someissues that are still benefiting the kids and thepeople of that area today. I think that RonMcLean was precisely that kind of individual.That is something to which all of us mustaspire.

In his maiden speech on 12 March 1981,Ron, who was always the champion of theunderdog, called on the Government to buildmore units for aged pensioners. As theMinister for Public Works and Housing, I wasprivileged and delighted to preside over arecord building program for aged care. I thinkthat Ron would have thoroughly approved ofthat particular process.

When Ron McLean retired fromParliament for health reasons, he expressedthe concern that there was a worrying trendthat Governments were becoming dominatedby academics. I do not know about whathappens in the Labor Party; but in the LiberalParty, when people refer to academics, theyare usually referring to lawyers and doctors! Hesaid that it was best that there be a balance, amixture of blue and white collar workers, in theParliaments of Australia, that that was the wayto get the best parliamentary government. Ifirmly believe that there will always be room inthis House for blue-collar workers of the calibreof Ron McLean. On the behalf of the LiberalParty, I pass on my condolences to Ron's wifeand family.

As to Les Yewdale—unfortunately, I didnot know him. He left Parliament the year Icame in, at the 1989 election. Although I didnot have the privilege of knowing himpersonally, I am told on the very bestauthority—his electorate secretary for 16 years,Thelma Humphris—that Les never turnedanyone away from his office, that he did hisutmost to help them. Les was a quiet achiever.He was never one to blow his own trumpet. Asall of us believe, Les believed that it was his


job to serve his constituents. Whenever hewas able to help them, he never soughtpublicity for his efforts.

Les' work was obviously appreciated byhis constituents, because—as the previousspeaker said—he held his seat for fiveelections before retiring because of ill health. Itwas interesting to hear the Minister for PublicWorks and Housing talk about the historicalreasons that Les was the only Labor memberto be able to increase his margin at the 1974election when the Labor Party was reduced tothe cricket team. Not only was it a tremendouseffort; it is my understanding that he alwaysliked to remind people of that. As we go on,the relevant facts of history sometimes getembellished. That was one of theaccomplishments that he thought was worthyof other people remembering.

In his younger days, Les was a top RugbyLeague player in Rockhampton. His laterefforts in the administration of the game sawhim awarded life membership of theQueensland Rugby League. Les, like Ron,was not all biff and barge; he was also a veryactive member of the peace movement. LesYewdale served the people of RockhamptonNorth and the people of Queensland withdistinction. On behalf of the Liberal Party, Ipass on my condolences to his wife, Marge,and their family.

Hon. V. P. LESTER (Keppel—NPA)(10.12 a.m.): As a member of Parliamentrepresenting central Queensland, it is veryobvious that I have known Les Yewdale for along, long time. For many years, I waspresident of the Clermont football club. It wasduring those very interesting times that Iinitially got to know Les and to find out justwhat a decent, fair-minded person he was. Itdid not even matter when he found that I wasrunning for politics in a party different from his.Football was first as far as we were concerned.He continued to do all of his football relatedduties very, very well.

He also probably gave me the greatestpolitical lesson I have ever learnt in my life. Iused to do a column called "Talking Footballwith Vince Lester", which I have to say waswidely read. It was always a very positive typeof column. If I could say something goodabout somebody in it, that is the way I tried towork. I was duly elected to Parliament, and onmy very first Sunday as a member ofParliament I could not get to the football,because there was a fete or something elsesomewhere. I asked somebody to take notesfor me and I took my notes off that. The notescame back to the effect that the referees were

crook and something else was crook. I tell youwhat: I got a blast from Les in no uncertainterms. I had no option but to apologise. I havenever since written a football column; I haveconcentrated on politics. It was a good lesson.You do not make adverse comments on thebasis of something given to you by somebodyelse if you do not know what you are talkingabout. I might add that he did not continue inthat vein after that. Once that little incident wasover, he was always again his very, verywonderful self. He and Marge moved toKeppel a little while after retiring. Unfortunately,they had to leave. I used to call on the familyoccasionally.

In relation to Ron—he was my shadowwhen I was a Minister. During that time in theindustrial relations area a number of prettyinteresting incidents caused a lot of debate, tosay the least. During one of those incidents,Ron and I had to debate each other on theABC AM program. I will not say what it wasabout, but it was a pretty serious affair. Wewere into it boots and all. We each hadseparate microphones and the ABC fellow wasin the middle. This was radio, not TV. One ofthe microphones broke down. That did notworry Ron. He said, "She'll be right, mate."While I am blasting hell out of him, he isholding the microphone to my mouth, and Ihad to smile. At the same time, when it washis turn to blast me, I held the microphone forhim. It was one heck of a debate; we calledeach other for everything. As soon as it wasover he patted me on the back and said, "Wefooled them there, didn't we, mate!"

Ron also was a very decent fellow to dealwith. It is very obvious that he did not treat methe way Robert, the member forRockhampton, said that he dealt with somepeople he did not like. Obviously, politicsaside, we got on very well. To his widow, I say:he was a great man.

I had extensive dealings with both ofthese men. One can only hope that they havegone as high as they can possibly go.

Mr MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (10.17 a.m.): Itis a pleasure to stand in support of my formeremployer. The great irony, of course, is that,although Ronnie stood up for the workers,there were those of us who had to work forhim. By any measure, he was a remarkablepersonality and a humanitarian. On behalf ofthe staff who worked with him—some of whomare in the gallery, and all of whom were at hisfuneral—let me say that it was a great honourto work with him. In fact, there were many dayswhen I think it was a sin to take the money forhaving to work with Ronnie McLean. There


were very many memorable days—great days,in fact. I can think back to Charleville when wewere out there in a tent in all the mud trying toput that place back together. Ronnie never lostthat common touch—that human touch—ashe dealt with both his staff and the people outthere, who were going through enormoushardship.

There was a great human side to RonMcLean—a great laughter, a bonhomie thatwas infectious. It certainly infected all of us. Aswell as that common touch, he had manyinterests that, until I worked with him, I hadnever brushed up against. For example, I canremember when he first took me to the races.He said, "Come on, mate, we'll go to theraces." The whole staff had to go. He had ahorse named Just A Diamond. He said, "Look,Mickel, put some money on it. No, you've gotto put it on to win." I thought, "God! I've neverput any money on a horse." He showed mehow to do that. The thing bolted in by half ahead. He said, "See, mate: this horseracinggame, you put 10 bucks down and you get 60bucks back, and you haven't discovered thatyet."

I can remember also that he took us to agolfing tournament. It was an Ambrose; it wasyour best shot. I had never before picked up agolf club. He took me out and he showed mehow to wave the thing around. He said,"Righto, mate, your turn." Everybody packedaround that day. I was waving the club. As Iwaved it backwards, I connected with the balland the ball shot 30 metres backwards. It wasmy best shot all day! He stood there andlooked at me and said, "Jeez, mate. I've neverseen a shot like that."

The Minister, Robert Schwarten, said thatRon McLean had a highly developed andsensitive feel for the downtrodden. As Robertsaid also, it applied no matter where thosepeople lived. I notice that my friend themember for Moggill alluded to somethingbefore. I can remember that incident very, verywell. I also remember that one of his first actswas to go out to the Inala district where theMinister for Primary Industries and I had beenschoolteachers some years before. In all thattime, we could never get a darned thing for theschool. I remember in protest we both paintedour classrooms red, white and blue becausewe could never get the things fixed up. One ofRonnie's first acts was to go out there and givemoney for the Inala State School swimmingpool, because they were always $10,000short. To my recollection, that is still the onlyswimming pool that services a district that,frankly, is the size of any country town. Ronniedid that: his first act.

His second act was far more memorable.He went to the Inala State High School which,at that stage, was quite bereft. In fact, one ofthe ceilings was falling in. I remember hecarpeted the bloke from AdministrativeServices afterwards. He asked, "How inheaven's name could these schools end uplike this?" The fellow said——

An honourable member interjected.

Mr MICKEL: I am being charitable. RonMcLean said, "How could have these schoolsended up like this?" The fellow said, "We weregiven a colour coding, and the colour codingfor Inala meant that we were never to doanything in the area." That led to the mostmemorable incident I think in that first sessionof Parliament. Those members who were herewill remember Ron McLean coming in andanswering a question where he unveiled aspecial electorate works program. There were270 programs, all of them in National Partyelectorates, except one. I think that was in theelectorate of Cook, but that was aCommonwealth project. I have to be honestwith the Leader of the Opposition and say thatwhen he went back downstairs after thatperformance I think the Opposition memberswere all called fleas and all of that sort of stuff.

The other one that, of course, is featuredin the Premier's book, In The Arena—a PulitzerPrize winning book, Mr Premier, read acrossthe civilised world, certainly from West End toMilton, anyway—is the incident that isdescribed in the first page dealing with theBaroona Special School. That school was acomplete disgrace. I must say that, oninstruction after he left the Premier that day,Ron McLean came back and had the placefixed up within two days.

The other story that is told is the Birdsvillepool story. There is actually another string tothat story. The reason they could not get thepool, apart from a little bit of shortfall in thefunding, was that the department of the dayinsisted that there be a grandstand with thepool. I want to say this to the member forGregory: Ronnie gave the people of Birdsvillethat pool only on the basis that they wouldbuild a grandstand. So we have been steadilywatching the population build up and we arefaithfully assured that, by about the year 4020,there will be a population big enough towarrant the grandstand.

I have not seen John Lutteral thismorning, but I have certainly cleared this storywith Anne McLean. We were fearful that what Iam about to say next would have broughtdown the Goss Government. It was an incidentthat occurred in Mount Isa. Actually, to be


perfectly honest, it was to do with St Patrick'sDay in Mount Isa. Those members who havebeen to Mount Isa will know that it has thelargest Irish club in the world. We were therestudying a whole lot of Government facilities,of course, and unfortunately it coincided withSt Patrick's Day and the whole town was there.Ever mindful of Government money, we got ataxi to the festivities that night. At about two inthe morning, the festivities had ended and thewhole town, including us, because MinisterMcGrady was still busy with the 800 peoplewho had gathered around him, went in searchof a taxi. After about an hour and a half of afutile search for a taxi I said, "Leave it with me,I will go and find somebody who can give us alift back." This guy came up to me and asked,"Are you looking for a taxi?" We said, "Yes."He said, "I will give you a lift back. Just waitdown in the back of the car park there." I saidto Ronnie and John Lutteral who was with me,"Listen, I have got a lift back. We will be right.We will just go down and wait."

Ronnie said to me, "Listen, mate, if thisbloke asks where we work, just tell him we workfor the Government. Do not tell him who thehell I am." I said, "Okay, it will be sweet." Sowe walked down the back and the blokeshowed up drinking a stubby. I thought, "God,this is going to be choice." He said, "Overhere", and he pointed to a Mini Minor. So thethree of us, that is Ronnie, Lutteral and me,had to get into the back of this Mini. Ronniesat in the middle, so members can imaginethat we were all squashed. The bloke with thestubby did not get in the driver's seat. He said,"Look, I have got my brother, he will drive foryou. I have had a few to drink." I thought,"That is handy, anyway." The Mini is barelyabove the ground, and the guy started up thecar, kangaroo-hopped backwards andstopped. I thought, "Oh, God." Members canimagine that, with Ronnie's weight, the wholecar was shaking. This bloke kangaroo-hoppedthe car four times, every time snuffing the car,just to get to the exit. While they were fiddlingaround the bloke said, "Mate, look, he will bebetter when he gets his driver's licence." Wethought, "God, if Borbidge finds out about this,we are in it deep."

While they were fiddling around trying tostart the car and trying to give quick lessons,Ronnie leaned over towards me and said,"Mickel, I am going to kill you." In the end,after many kangaroo hops, we got out. On theedge of town, Ronnie said to the bloke, "Yes,that is our hotel just over there. If you stopright here, we will get out." To this day, I do notknow whether that poor bloke knows who thepassengers were in the back seat. Until right

now, we have never been game to tellanybody for fear of major embarrassment.

In closing, I simply want to say this: thestaff and friends of John F. Kennedy wrote abook called The Pleasure of His Company.With Ronnie McLean, it would be very easy tosit down and write a book of the same title. Iwill say this of Ronnie: he never forgot who hewas; most of all, he never forgot where he wasgoing back to. That is the great tribute that wecan pay to him as people who worked for him.One of the greatest things when he retired asa Minister was that all the staff of thedepartment willingly came out and gave apresent to their man, their Minister. So toAnne, I say on behalf of those who workedwith him that it was a great honour and that wewill miss him greatly, I know, as much as youwill.

Mr FELDMAN (Caboolture—ONP)(10.27 a.m.): I did not know personally eitherof these two honourable gentlemen, RonMcLean or Les Yewdale, but their deeds havecertainly gone before them in this House.Obviously, they were men of stature and menof character. That is something that this placeloves dearly—men of character. They did theirduty: they performed in this House and theyperformed for their electors. They will beremembered for their achievements and theiraccomplishments as well as the stories.

I endorse the kind words placed on recordin this House by those who knew thesegentlemen well and who served alongsidethem. With the other members of One Nation,I wish to extend condolences and best wishesto the families of the deceased gentlemen. Iam sure that all of those in One Nation andwithout would be happy to join with me inextending our sympathies to their families,their next of kin.

In closing, I wish to offer these words totheir families and to their friends: unto him,who is able to keep you from falling, to theonly wise God, our Father, be glory andmajesty. I know these two men will bepresented faultless in the presence of the gloryof our maker and I offer this to their family andto their friends. Amen.

Mrs SHELDON (Caloundra—LP)(10.29 a.m.): I will be brief; I know that time ismoving on. I would like to express mycondolences to the family of Les Yewdale andRon McLean. I would like to say a few words inparticular about Ronnie McLean. He was aconstituent of mine. When he retired, he hadthe good sense to come and live in myelectorate.


2 Mar 1999 Papers 11

Mrs SHELDON: One never knows. Themember should wait until I tell the story. Ronwas very interested in horses and horse racing.He was breeding horses on some land he hadin the hinterland and was very involved withCorbould Park Racecourse. At that time wewere having a little difficulty with the thenRacing Minister, Bob Gibbs, about Saturdayrace meetings. Mr Gibbs, with little foresight,was going to take away some of our Saturdayrace meetings.

Ron and I decided that we would jointlychair a committee to see what we could doabout this matter. We had a large attendanceat a public meeting held in the Caloundra CivicCentre. Mr Gibbs attended that meeting. It hasbeen mentioned that Ron was a man ofpeace, but I do not know how peaceful MrGibbs was feeling when he entered the room.

I thought a great deal of Ron McLean. Hewas a very friendly man who was wellrespected in his community. He was certainlywell respected by the racing community. RonMcLean fought very hard for the rights oftrainers, owners, jockeys, bookmakers and allthe other people who form the racingcommunity. I enjoyed working with RonMcLean. I believe that, together, we managedto retain as many Saturday race meetings atCaloundra as we could. I offer my condolencesto his family.

Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—NPA)(10.32 a.m.): I rise to speak to the condolencemotion for the late Ron McLean. I only cameto know Ron McLean when I entered thisplace in 1989. Ron and I had a mutual friendnamed Mike Gibson. In the 1960s Mike playedfootball with Ron McLean in the wharfies team.Mike and Ron had a close relationship andwere great mates. This morning I asked Mike,"What do you have to say about Ron, Mike?"Mike said, "He was a genuine, nice bloke andhe was a true friend." Mike has gone on to beone of western Queensland's successfulgraziers. Ron McLean came to this place torepresent the people of Bulimba and laterbecame a Minister of the Crown.

I had a good friendship with Ron McLean.That friendship was an indication of Ron'ssincerity and his sense of responsibility towardshis fellow man. Ron McLean was a good friendeven though he sat on the other side of theHouse.

Ron McLean was one of the colourfulmembers of this House. When I first enteredthis Parliament Ron McLean used to sitsomewhere near where the current Minister forPrimary Industries sits. The member for Loganreferred to school programs as they related to

the Public Works and Housing portfolio. RonMcLean tipped not a bucket but a 44-gallondrum on the members of the Opposition atthat time on their works program in relation toschools when they were in Government.

This Chamber is made up of colourfulpeople. Queensland is made up of colourfulcharacters. We fit the frame of liars, larrikinsand legends. Ron McLean certainly fitted intothat mould. I do not mean to be defamatorywhen I speak about liars. In that context I amspeaking about a sense of decency.

I know exactly what his wife Anne is goingthrough. She has lost her best friend. If it isany comfort to her at this time of death, shecan still reflect on the good times that she andRon shared. May you rest in peace, Ron. Godbless you, Anne.

Motion agreed to, honourable membersstanding in silence.

PAPERSPAPERS TABLED DURING THE RECESS

The Clerk informed the House that thefollowing papers, received during the recess,were tabled on the dates indicated—

23 November 1998—Royal Brisbane Hospital ResearchFoundation—Annual Report 1997-98

Ipswich Hospital Foundation—AnnualReport 1997-98Sunshine Coast Health ServicesFoundation—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual reports of the RoyalBrisbane Hospital Research Foundation,Ipswich Hospital Foundation andSunshine Coast Health ServicesFoundation

Members' Ethics and ParliamentaryPrivileges Committee Report No. 24—Report on a matter of privilege—Thealleged misleading of the House by aMinister on 30 July 1998Members' Ethics and ParliamentaryPrivileges Committee Report No. 25—Report on a matter of privilege referred tothe committee on 25 August 1998 (Use ofthe Legislative Assembly crest)

24 November 1998—Golden Casket Lottery CorporationLimited—Annual Report 1997-98

Golden Casket Lottery CorporationLimited—Statement of Corporate Intent1997-98Late tabling statement from the Treasurer(Mr Hamill) regarding the 1997-98 annual

12 Papers 2 Mar 1999

report of the Golden Casket LotteryCorporation Limited

26 November 1998—

Townsville District Health Foundation—Annual Report 1997-98Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of the TownsvilleDistrict Health Foundation

30 November 1998—The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of The PrinceCharles Hospital Foundation

2 December 1998—Valuers Registration Board ofQueensland—Annual Report 1997-98

8 December 1998—Far North Queensland HospitalFoundation—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of Far NorthQueensland Hospital Foundation

9 December 1998—Childrens Court of Queensland—AnnualReport 1997-98

10 December 1998—Grainco Limited—Annual Report andAnnual Financial Report for the year ended31 August 1998

11 December 1998—

Bundaberg Port Authority—Annual Report1997-98Bundaberg Port Authority—Statement ofCorporate Intent 1997-98

Cairns Port Authority—Annual Report1997-98Cairns Port Authority—Statement ofCorporate Intent 1997-98

Gladstone Port Authority—Annual Report1997-98

Gladstone Port Authority—Statement ofCorporate Intent 1997-98Mackay Port Authority—Annual Report1997-98

Mackay Port Authority—Statement ofCorporate Intent 1997-98Port of Brisbane Corporation—AnnualReport 1997-98

Port of Brisbane Corporation—Statementof Corporate Intent 1997-98

Ports Corporation of Queensland—AnnualReport 1997-98

Ports Corporation of Queensland—Statement of Corporate Intent 1997-98

Rockhampton Port Authority—AnnualReport and Statement of Corporate Intent1997-98

Townsville Port Authority—Annual Report1997-98

Townsville Port Authority—Statement ofCorporate Intent 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Transport and Minister for Main Roads(Mr Bredhauer) regarding the 1997-98annual reports of Bundaberg PortAuthority, Cairns Port Authority,Gladstone Port Authority, Mackay PortAuthority, Port of Brisbane Corporation,Ports Corporation of Queensland,Rockhampton Port Authority andTownsville Port Authority

Queensland Rail—Annual Report 1997-98

Queensland Rail—Statement of CorporateIntent 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Transport and Minister for Main Roads(Mr Bredhauer) regarding the 1997-98annual report of Queensland Rail

Central Electricity Retail Corporation(Ergon Energy)—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Mines and Energy and MinisterAssisting the Deputy Premier on RegionalDevelopment (Mr McGrady) regarding the1997-98 annual report of CentralElectricity Retail Corporation (ErgonEnergy)

14 December 1998—

Auditor-General of Queensland ReportNo. 3 1998-99—Audits Performed for1997-98

Department of Transport—Annual Report1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Transport and Minister for Main Roads(Mr Bredhauer) regarding the 1997-98annual report of the Department ofTransport

15 December 1998—

Department of Mines and Energy—AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Mines and Energy and MinisterAssisting the Deputy Premier on RegionalDevelopment (Mr McGrady) regarding the1997-98 annual report of the Departmentof Mines and Energy

16 December 1998—

Scrutiny of Legislation Committee—AlertDigest No. 11 of 1998


17 December 1998—

Public Works Committee Report No. 53—Construction of 30 Citytrain carriages

Public Works Committee Report No. 54—Construction of a new school andsecondary department at Tin Can Bay

Public Works Committee Report No. 55—Redevelopment of the MaryboroughHospital

21 December 1998—

Royal Children's Hospital Foundation—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of the RoyalChildren's Hospital Foundation

Murray-Darling Basin Commission—AnnualReport 1997-98

Queensland River Improvement Trusts—Summarised Annual Report 1997-98

22 December 1998—

Queensland Law Reform CommissionReport No. 53—Review of the Limitationof Actions Act 1974 (Qld)

23 December 1998—

Toowoomba Hospital Foundation—AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of the ToowoombaHospital Foundation

24 December 1998—

Bore Water Boards, Drainage Boards andWater Boards—Summarised AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Environment and Heritage and Ministerfor Natural Resources (Mr Welford)regarding the 1997-98 summarised annualreport of Bore Water Boards, DrainageBoards and Water Boards

Darling Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Environment and Heritage and Ministerfor Natural Resources (Mr Welford)regarding the 1997-98 annual report of theDarling Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board

Gladstone Area Water Board—AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Environment and Heritage and Ministerfor Natural Resources (Mr Welford)regarding the 1997-98 annual report of theGladstone Area Water Board

Townsville Thuringowa Water SupplyBoard—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Environment and Heritage and Ministerfor Natural Resources (Mr Welford)regarding the 1997-98 annual report of theTownsville Thuringowa Water SupplyBoardGreyhound Racing Authority—AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Tourism, Sport and Racing(Mr Gibbs) regarding the 1997-98 annualreport of the Greyhound Racing Authority

Explanation from the Minister forAboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderPolicy andMinister for Women's Policy and Ministerfor Fair Trading (Ms Spence) regardingthe granting of a further extension of timefor the tabling of the Island IndustriesBoard Annual Report for the year ended31 January 1998

8 January 1999—

Members' Ethics and ParliamentaryPrivileges Committee Report No. 26—Firstreport on the powers, rights andimmunities of the Legislative Assembly, itscommittees and membersDumaresq-Barwon Border RiversCommission—Annual Report 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Environment and Heritage andMinister for Natural Resources (MrWelford) regarding the 1997-98 annualreport of the Dumaresq-Barwon BorderRivers Commission

27 January 1999—

Island Industries Board—Annual Reportfor the year ended 31 January 1998

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderPolicy and Minister for Women's Policyand Minister for Fair Trading (Ms Spence)regarding the annual report for the yearended 31 January 1998 of the IslandIndustries BoardQueensland Government Progress Reporton the Implementation of theRecommendations of the RoyalCommission Into Aboriginal Deaths inCustody 1996-97

3 February 1999—Gold Coast Hospital Foundation—AnnualReport 1997-98

Late tabling statement from the Ministerfor Health (Mrs Edmond) regarding the1997-98 annual report of the Gold CoastHospital Foundation

8 February 1999—Office of the Adult Guardian—AnnualReport 1997-98


9 February 1999—Commission of Inquiry—Corrections in theBalance a Review of Corrective Servicesin Queensland

15 February 1999—

Queensland Egg Industry ManagementAuthority—Final Report 27 June 1998 to31 December 1998

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

The following statutory instruments were tabledby The Clerk—

Aboriginal Land Act 1991— Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 331

Acts Interpretation Act 1954, Constitution Act1867, Officials in Parliament Act 1896—

Administrative Arrangements Order (No. 1)1999

Ambulance Service Act 1991—

Ambulance Service AmendmentRegulation (No. 2) 1998, No. 333

Appeal Costs Fund Act 1973, Coroners Act1958, Justices Act 1886, Registration of Births,Deaths and Marriages Act 1962, Small ClaimsTribunals Act 1973—

Justice Legislation (Variation of Fees)Regulation 1998, No. 337

Auctioneers and Agents Act 1971—

Auctioneers and Agents (Exemptions)Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 1998,No. 315

Brisbane Forest Park Act 1977—

Brisbane Forest Park Regulation 1998,No. 367

Building and Construction Industry (PortableLong Service Leave) Act 1991—

Building and Construction Industry(Portable Long Service Leave)Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 1998,No. 319

Central Queensland University Act 1989—

Proclamation—the members of theCouncil appointed under section 8(1)(h) ofthe Act assume office on 13 November1998

Central Queensland University Act 1998— Proclamation—the provisions of the Actthat are not in force commence 1 January1999, No. 356

Commissions of Inquiry Act 1950—

Commissions of Inquiry (Forde Inquiry—Quorum) Amendment Regulation (No. 2)1998, No. 377

Competition Policy Reform (Queensland) Act1996, Dairy Industry Act 1993—

Dairy Industry Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 332

Coroners Act 1958— Coroners Amendment Rule (No. 1) 1998,No. 326

Coroners Regulation 1998, No. 304Criminal Justice Act 1989—

Criminal Justice Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1999, No. 11

Dairy Industry Act 1993—

Dairy Industry (Market Milk Prices)Amendment Order (No. 1) 1999, No. 10

Dairy Industry (Market Milk Prices) Order(No. 2) 1998, No. 376

Dental Technicians and Dental Prosthetists Act1991—

Dental Technicians and DentalProsthetists Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 305

District Court Act 1967—

District Court Amendment Regulation(No. 2) 1998, No. 340

District Court Amendment Rule (No. 1)1998, No. 339

Drugs Misuse Act 1986—

Drugs Misuse Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 348

Education (General Provisions) Act 1989—

Education (General Provisions)Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 1998,No. 355

Education (Overseas Students) Act 1996— Education (Overseas Students) Regulation1998, No. 322

Electricity Act 1994— Electricity Amendment Regulation (No. 4)1998, No. 327

Electricity Amendment Regulation (No. 5)1998, No. 349

Electricity Amendment Act (No. 3) 1997— Electricity Amendment (No. 3) Regulation1998, No. 314

Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 13 December 1998,No. 328Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 22 February 1999, No. 9

Environmental Protection Act 1994—

Environmental Protection AmendmentRegulation (No. 2) 1998, No. 316Environmental Protection AmendmentRegulation (No. 3) 1998, No. 358

Environmental Protection (Interim Waste)Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 1998,No. 330

Fair Trading Act 1989—

Fair Trading Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 306


Fire and Rescue Authority Act 1990— Fire and Rescue Authority AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1998, No. 324 Fire and Rescue Authority LegislationAmendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 372

Fisheries Act 1994— Fisheries Amendment Regulation (No. 5)1998, No. 370

Fisheries Amendment Regulation (No. 1)1999, No. 2Fisheries (Purse Seine Net EmergencyClosed Waters) Declaration No. 1 of 1999

Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act1963—

Fluoridation of Public Water SuppliesRegulation 1998, No. 320

Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1963,Food Act 1981, Health Act 1937, Mental HealthAct 1974, Radioactive Substances Act 1958—

Health Legislation Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 343

Forestry Act 1959— Forestry Amendment Regulation (No. 4)1998, No. 310

Forestry (State Forests) AmendmentRegulation (No. 2) 1998, No. 365

Government Owned Corporations Act 1993—

Government Owned CorporationsAmendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 336

Health Act 1937— Health Amendment Regulation (No. 1)1999, No. 4

Health (Drugs and Poisons) AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1999, No. 8

Health and Other Legislation Amendment Act1998—

Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 21 December 1998,No. 346 Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 8 February 1999, No. 3

Health Practitioners (Special Events Exemption)Act 1998—

Health Practitioners (Special EventsExemption) Regulation 1998, No. 345

Health Services Act 1991—

Health Services Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 344

Hospitals Foundations Act 1982—Hospitals Foundations AmendmentRegulation (No. 3) 1998, No. 313

Industrial Development Amendment Act 1998— Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 18 December 1998,No. 335

Integrated Planning Act 1997—Local Government Court Amendment Rule(No. 1) 1998, No. 311

Intellectually Disabled Citizens Act 1985—

Intellectually Disabled Citizens Regulation1998, No. 342

Justices Act 1886—

Justices Amendment Regulation (No. 3)1998, No. 303

Justices Act 1886, Transport Operations (RoadUse Management) Act 1995—

Transport and Other LegislationAmendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 321

Juvenile Justice Legislation Amendment Act1998—

Proclamation—the provisions of the Actthat are not in force commence 7December 1998, No. 325

Local Government Act 1993—

Local Government (Areas) AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1999, No. 6

Local Government (Boonah, Brisbane,Esk, Ipswich and Laidley) Regulation 1999,No. 5

Magistrates Courts Act 1921—

Magistrates Courts Amendment Rule(No. 3) 1998, No. 341

Mental Health Act 1974—

Mental Health Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 374

Mineral Resources Act 1989—

Mineral Resources Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1999, No. 1

Nature Conservation Act 1992—

Nature Conservation AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1998, No. 362

Nature Conservation (Macropod HarvestPeriod) Notice 1998, No. 307

Nature Conservation (MacropodHarvesting) Amendment ConservationPlan (No. 1) 1998, No. 361

Nature Conservation (Protected Areas)Amendment Regulation (No. 10) 1998,No. 323

Nature Conservation (Protected Areas)Amendment Regulation (No. 11) 1998,No. 360

Police and Other Legislation (MiscellaneousProvisions) Act 1998—

Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 18 December 1998,No. 373

Psychologists Act 1977—

Psychologists Amendment By-law (No. 1)1998, No. 347


Public Trustee Act 1978—Public Trustee (Fees and Charges Notice)(No. 1) 1999

Queensland Building Services Authority Act1991—

Queensland Building Services AuthorityAmendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 375

Queensland University of Technology Act1988—

Queensland University of Technology(Statutes Repeal) Statute 1998, No. 309

Queensland University of Technology Act1998—

Proclamation—commencement of certainprovisions of the Act, No. 308

Rural Lands Protection Act 1985—

Rural Lands Protection AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1998, No. 363

Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act1994—

Proclamation—certain provisions of theAct commence 21 December 1998,No. 366

Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act1982—

Statutory Bodies Financial ArrangementsAmendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 312

Statutory Instruments Act 1992— Statutory Instruments AmendmentRegulation (No. 2) 1998, No. 334

Sugar Industry Act 1991—

Sugar Industry Amendment Regulation(No. 2) 1998, No. 369

Superannuation (State Public Sector) Act1990—

Superannuation (State Public Sector)Amendment of Deed Regulation (No. 1)1999, No. 7

Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991— Supreme Court Amendment Rule (No. 1)1998, No. 338

Traffic Act 1949—Traffic Amendment Regulation (No. 2)1998, No. 350

Transport Legislation Amendment Act 1997— Transport Legislation AmendmentRegulation 1998, No. 317

Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act1994—

Transport Operations (Marine Safety)Amendment Regulation (No. 6) 1998,No. 351Transport Operations (Marine SafetyCrewing for Commercial and FishingShips) Interim Standard (No. 2) 1998,No. 352

Transport Operations (Passenger Transport)Act 1994—

Transport Operations (PassengerTransport) Amendment Regulation (No. 3)1998, No. 353

Transport Operations (Road Use Management)Act 1995—

Transport Operations (Road UseManagement) Amendment Regulation(No. 1) 1998, No. 354

Transport Operations (Road UseManagement-Fatigue Management)Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 329

University of Southern Queensland Act 1989—

Proclamation—the members of theCouncil appointed under section 8(1)(h) ofthe Act assume office on 18 December1998

University of the Sunshine Coast Act 1998— Proclamation—the provisions of the Actthat are not in force commence 1 January1999, No. 357

Valuation of Land and Other LegislationAmendment Act 1998—

Proclamation—the provisions of the Actthat are not in force commence 18December 1998, No. 364

Veterinary Surgeons Act 1936—

Veterinary Surgeons AmendmentRegulation (No. 1) 1998, No. 371

Water Resources Act 1989—

Water Resources (North Burdekin WaterArea) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 1998,No. 368

Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995—

Workplace Health and Safety (AdvisoryStandards) Amendment Notice (No. 1)1998, No. 359

Workplace Health and Safety AmendmentRegulation (No. 2) 1998, No. 318

MINISTERIAL RESPONSES TOPARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE REPORTS

The following responses to parliamentarycommittee reports, received during the recess,were tabled by The Clerk—

response from the Minister for Police andCorrective Services (Mr Barton) to areport of the Travelsafe Committeeentitled Brisbane's Citytrain Network—PartTwo—Passenger Security;

response from the Minister for Transportand Minister for Main Roads (MrBredhauer) to a report of the TravelsafeCommittee entitled Brisbane's CitytrainNetwork—Part Two—Passenger Security;

response from the Minister forEnvironment and Heritage and Minister forNatural Resources (Mr Welford) to a

2 Mar 1999 Questions Without Notice 17

report of the Public Works Committeeentitled The Mareeba/Dimbulah IrrigationArea Project;interim response from the Minister forEmergency Services (Mrs Rose) to areport of the Public Works Committeeentitled Construction of a hot fire trainingfacility by the Queensland Fire andRescue Authority;

response from the Premier (Mr Beattie) toa report of the Public AccountsCommittee entitled Review of the Reportof the Strategic Review of the QueenslandAudit Office;response from the Minister for Police andCorrective Services (Mr Barton) to areport of the Public Works Committeeentitled The upgrading of the TownsvilleCorrectional Centre;

response from the Minister for EmergencyServices (Mrs Rose) to a report of thePublic Works Committee entitledConstruction of a hot fire training facilityby the Queensland Fire and RescueAuthority; andinterim response from the Acting Premier(Mr Elder) to a report of the Legal,Constitutional and Administrative ReviewCommittee entitled The preservation andenhancement of individuals' rights andfreedoms in Queensland: ShouldQueensland adopt a bill of rights?

NOTICE OF MOTIONGordonstone Mine Dispute; Member for

Fitzroy

Hon. R. E. BORBIDGE (SurfersParadise—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition)(10.35 a.m.): I give notice that I shall move—

"That this House, noting with concernthe impact on jobs and businessconfidence of the Gordonstone dispute,calls on the Premier to—

dissociate himself and theGovernment from the continuingunlawful activities of certain of thepicketers at the Gordonstone mine;

condemn the actions of CFMEUorganised protesters who haveprevented the peaceable passage ofworkers at the mine to and from theirhomes;discipline the Member for Fitzroy overhis public comments that he standsby his decision to break the law; andcalls for the immediate abandonmentof the CFMEU picket line atGordonstone and for all parties to thedispute to argue their case before

the Federal Court when the matter isheard next month."

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Gordonstone Mine Dispute; Member forFitzroy

Mr BORBIDGE (10.36 a.m.): I ask theMinister for Mines and Energy: does hesupport the activities of the member for Fitzroyat the Gordonstone picket that justified andresulted in his arrest? Does the Ministersupport his colleague's actions, as the Premierhas done?

Mr McGRADY: What the Opposition hasto understand is that the member for Fitzroy isan ex-coalminer. The member for Fitzroyrepresents people who are involved in thecoalmining industry. The member for Fitzroyfelt that he had a responsibility to be with hiselectors at that pressing time. He has made adecision. As the member for Fitzroy representsthose people, he is entitled to make thatdecision. If he feels it is correct, I support him.


Mr BORBIDGE: In directing a question tothe Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Ipoint out to him that the Premier and theMinister for Mines and Energy have praised amember of the Government for being arrestedat the Gordonstone picket. I ask: as first lawofficer does the Attorney-General and Ministerfor Justice condone the behaviour of hiscolleague?

Mr FOLEY: I salute the member forFitzroy. There are various ways in which oneshows respect for the law. The law must takeits course, but there is a tradition of civildisobedience in which people show certainrespect for the law. That is why NelsonMandela is President of South Africa today. Itwas not because Mr Mandela was alawbreaker that he was elevated to thatposition; it was because he showed acommitment to his beliefs and accepted theconsequences of having broken the law of thetime. His example shines through history as adevotion to the principles of justice.

One need only look to the work ofMahatma Gandhi to see how the tradition ofnon-violent civil disobedience can—

Opposition members interjected.

Mr SPEAKER: Order!Mr FOLEY: The member for Fitzroy

stands in a proud tradition. The member for

18 Questions Without Notice 2 Mar 1999

Fitzroy has taken certain actions for which hemust accept the consequences, but that is nota matter for derision; that is a matter in whichone must show respect for the principles whichhe has sought to express.

Unemployment

Mr SULLIVAN: I refer the Premier to theFederal Treasurer's backing for the Premier'starget of a 5% unemployment rate, and I ask:where do the Queensland Nationals stand onthis issue?

Mr BEATTIE: I thank the honourablemember for his very intelligent and scintillatingquestion. I never thought that I would havePeter Costello on side or that he would bearguing for and supporting a 5%unemployment target. Where does that leavethe Leader of the Opposition and the NationalParty? Nowhere! Where does it leave theLeader of the Liberal Party? Nowhere! Domembers know why? The Leader of theOpposition is interested in only one job, andthat is the one he is having difficulty hangingonto. Interestingly, there has been a shift ofcritical mass among those opposite.

I was intrigued by a comment made bythe Leader of the Opposition when he wasstruggling to hang onto his job. He said that hehad some certainty. Do members recall that hesaid they were all united and he was feelingvery secure? When he was asked by theCourier-Mail about the level of commitment hesaid, "I have a commitment from the partyroom that I am the leader until the next timethere will be a vote", which he said would be inabout 2001. If I were the Leader of theOpposition, I would not feel too secure aboutit. We heard a doozey from the member forGregory also. The same newspaper reportedthat, when asked why the challengers did notwait for six months when a challenge mighthave been more successful, the member forGregory replied, "They probably will, mate."

There is a very clear difference betweenthe Opposition and the Government. We havea commitment to pursuing jobs in this State,and we will. Our track record is clear. We set atarget of delivering 30,000 jobs in the first 12months. In the first seven months, we havecreated around 35,000 jobs in this State.Within seven months, we have more thanachieved our 12-month target. Theunemployment rate, which was 8.9% when wecame to office, is now 8.2%. We have reducedit to that level within seven months. TheGovernment has been in office for eightmonths, but we have achieved that reduction

in seven months. We will stay on target forreaching a 5% unemployment rate. We knowthat it will be difficult and that it has beenmade more difficult by the Asian economiccrisis. The balance of payments figuresreleased yesterday indicate that it will becomemore and more difficult for us. However, we willnot leave the unemployed on the scrap heap,as they were under the formerBorbidge/Sheldon Government, whichpredicted in its Budget that unemploymentwould go up. We have tackled the issue headon and achieved results.


Dr WATSON: In directing a question tothe Premier, I point out that there is a cleardistinction between his side and our side. Irefer the Premier to his comments madeduring an interview with Carolyn Tucker on 18February 1999 concerning the arrest of themember for Fitzroy in which the Premier said,"I wouldn't expect any less of him and Isupport what he did ... I don't see anythingwrong with that", and I ask: as this Parliamentis charged with the responsibility of enactinglaws with which all Queenslanders are requiredto comply, why does the Premier find itacceptable for a member of this House todeliberately break the law when it suits him?

Mr BEATTIE: Mr Speaker, we have nottaken a point of order in relation to this issue,and I will not be doing so. However, as theOpposition wants to talk about procedures,points of order and the law, I point out thatthere is a rule called sub judice. This matter isbefore the courts. The Opposition has norespect for the law or this institution, because itis breaching all of the protocols. TheOpposition well knows that this matter is beforethe courts, yet it is prepared to throw out thatrule.

Let us talk about law and order—something that the Opposition rips up to suitits political convenience. Let me make itabsolutely clear that I expect every one of themembers on this side of the House—everymember of the Government—to have the gutsand courage to stand up for the people theyrepresent, and that includes Jim Pearce. Hehas stood up for the people he represents, notonly as a former coalminer but also assomeone who is representing the people in hisarea. The reason the former Government wasthrown out—the never-never Government; theGovernment that never did anything—was thatit stood for nothing. It saw no value inprinciples.


There is a proud tradition in Westernsociety whereby members of Parliament andpeople who have felt strongly enough aboutmatters of principle have been able to standup. They stood up against the Nazis inGermany and against oppression and fascismin Europe. The Opposition is saying thatpeople should not have the right to stand upfor matters of principle.

Mr Borbidge interjected. Mr BEATTIE: I am talking about a matter

of principle.

Mr Borbidge interjected.

Mr BEATTIE: Here we go. This is the manwho would like to run his party such that no-one has a say. He has seen what that does.They nearly threw him out last week. He wentto within a whisker of being thrown out not onlybecause he does not listen to people but alsobecause he is not prepared to allow them tohave a say.

Mr Borbidge: If you don't like the law,change it; you're the Government.

Mr BEATTIE: Let us talk about industrialrelations. I am glad the member raised thatissue.

Mr Mackenroth: Like Joan Sheldon andthe speeding fine.

Mr BEATTIE: We do not all take thesame approach to the law that Joan Sheldontook to dealing with a speeding fine; that isexactly right.

The position is very simple. There areproblems with the industrial laws in thiscountry. The industrial laws pursued by PeterReith and the Federal Government—and thismatter is under a Federal award, as theLeader of the Opposition knows—lead toconfrontation in the work force. Those lawsshould be changed by the FederalGovernment so that we can resolve theseissues by negotiation and discussion, not byconfrontation.

I have made it very, very clear to myMinister for Industrial Relations that I want areview of industrial laws in this State so that itdoes not become a battlefield. We are notprepared to accept the nonsense left by theprevious never-never Government. We wantindustrial laws that give workers a fair go but atthe same time encourage industry. There willbe a review of industrial laws under this StateGovernment and, yes, we will be making theappropriate changes to make certain that thisState is given the jobs energy and drive that isnecessary. In conclusion, let me say that a

man who stands by his principles is a manindeed.

Job Creation

Mr ROBERTS: I refer the Premier to hisongoing commitment to job creation in thisState, and I ask: is he aware of anycomparisons between the performance of hisGovernment and that of the Borbidge/SheldonGovernment?

Mr BEATTIE: Let us talk aboutachievements with respect to job creation. Imentioned before the fact that we had a targetof creating 30,000 jobs in the first 12 monthsand that we have achieved about 35,000 jobsso far. Unemployment has come down from8.9% to 8.2%, when under the lastBorbidge/Sheldon Budget it was predicted toincrease. Under us, it has come down. Whatare we doing? We are delivering 1,800 morejobs each month than did theBorbidge/Sheldon Government. Membersshould think about that figure. That is a veryclear and stark difference between us. In otherwords, we have a job creation rate that isalmost 60% higher than that of theBorbidge/Sheldon never-never Government.That is the difference between us.

Let us talk about some of the track recordof the previous Government—the never-neverGovernment. What did it do? It not only failedevery unemployed Queenslander—and, as Isaid, the Leader of the Opposition is interestedin only one job, and that is his own—themember for Caloundra brought down a Budgetthat forecast higher unemployment. That wasthe best that that Government could do. Thatis what its last Budget forecast.

We have talked about industrial relations.The workplace agreements of the member forClayfield have been a monumental failure. Hisindustrial relations approach was aboutconfrontation and about seeing a battlefield forindustrial relations—something that we willreview. There will be changes to our industriallaws to make certain that appropriate laws arein place. What else did that never-neverGovernment do? It failed to resolve the Wikimpasse. It was no surprise that it would noteven talk to all of the parties concerned. Itimposed a capital works freeze. The memberfor Surfers Paradise criticised us over Expo,but he could not even win it. He put in a losingbid for it. He granted an exclusive agreementto develop a superstadium to developers whocould not deliver on the terms that they weregiven.


The former Goss Government set moneyaside for the Roma Street redevelopment inthe 1995 Budget, and the coalition did nothingfor two and a half years. It was a never-neverGovernment that did nothing. Four Ministerswere forced to resign. The member forIndooroopilly failed the Parliament and thepeople of Queensland by refusing to resignafter losing the confidence of the Parliament.The member for Toowoomba North, when hewas Health Minister, fudged the public hospitalwaiting lists. The former member forTablelands broke up the electricity industry,paving the way for privatisation. Theyintroduced an elitist Leading Schools programin Education.

The member for Noosa was aninternational embarrassment over his ridiculousplans to set up rhino parks in Queensland. Healso caused the loss of millions of dollars intaxpayers' money in a shonky cruise lineventure, and gave the Gold Coast Indynaming rights to a real estate agent who couldnot pay and who went broke. What a hopelessGovernment we saw! We saw a relentlesscampaign to reduce the powers of the criminaljustice system. There is a contrast between us:we are a can-do Government; they were anever-never Government.

Industrial Relations Laws; GordonstoneMine Dispute

Mr SANTORO: I refer the Minister forIndustrial Relations to events at Gordonstoneand to the issue that underpins the events ofGordonstone, that is, the issue of choice ofunion labour as against non-union labour. Irefer the Minister to the comments that thePremier has just made and, in particular, hisrequest to the Minister that he introduce newindustrial relations laws. Under the Minister'sindustrial laws and those foreshadowed by thePremier, will employers have the right and thechoice to employ union and non-union labourunder either awards or contract arrangements?

Mr BRADDY: Certainly the greatestsignificance of this Gordonstone dispute is thatit highlights the difference between coalitionGovernments and Labor Governments in thisState. This dispute has dragged on since 1997because the Australian Industrial RelationsCommission was totally emasculated by theWorkplace Relations Act brought in by theOpposition's colleagues in the FederalParliament. They completely broke the systemthat this country was famous for: arbitrationand conciliation. So since 1997 this has beenthe cause of the dispute.

Here in Queensland only the other day wehad Minister Reith saying he had no intentionof intervening, that he was quite prepared tolet them slug it out for as long as it took. Thatflies in the face of what this country wasfamous for—an industrial conciliation andarbitration system which included acommission which had the power whenappropriate to intervene. It is this sort oflegislation that we will be bringing in that willbring back to Queensland under Queenslandawards a commission which will have thepower to intervene, to intercede, to conciliateand to arbitrate and not allow these things todrag on.

You would think, Mr Speaker, that theywould have learnt their lesson from the Patrickdispute, one of the most disgraceful episodesin Australian history where thugs in balaclavasand guard dogs were the supporters of thecoalition members of Parliament in thiscountry. When that collapsed through theintervention of the common law courts, thenthe parties were able to negotiate and a goodresult came about. But it would never havebeen a good result if the High Court ofAustralia and the Federal Court of Australiahad not struck down the disgraceful actions ofcoalition members of Parliament in Canberraand their supporters.

In relation to our legislation, I promise themembers opposite this: the Parliament will giveback to the Industrial Relations Commission ofthis State the powers to do the job that needsto be done, and workers in this State will haveunions and there will be a reasonable systemwhereby both unionists and non-unionists willbe able to work in this State under a good setof industrial legislation.

Employment Levels in Manufacturing Sector

Mr PITT: I ask the Minister for StateDevelopment and Trade: can he inform theHouse of current employment levels in themanufacturing sector in Queensland?

Mr ELDER: I thank the member for hisquestion because, as a former Minister in thisarea, he knows only too well some of theproud achievements of the Goss Governmentin relation to the manufacturing sector in thisState. Members should remember that back inthe seventies and the eighties when thecoalition was in Government we had a smallmanufacturing base. There was hardly anywork done in extending the economy andbroadening the economy. We tended to justgrow it, rip it up and ship it overseas.


As I said, one of the proudestachievements of the Goss Government wasthat when we came into Government about150,000 people were employed in themanufacturing sector. It would be that sectorthat would broaden the economy and providethe long-term sustainable jobs—jobs forworking Queenslanders. When we leftGovernment, 184,000 people were employedin the manufacturing sector. During our periodof Government the employment sector grewby 17%. When we left office we thought we leftit in good hands, but we left it with a Ministerwho had no industrial policy and, as thePremier has outlined further, found his bestand greatest interests in going to South Africalooking for rhinoceroses and looking at failedcruise lines and failed Indy sponsorships.

What he did was take his eye off the ball,and at that stage we saw a dramatic fall. Therewas no industry policy, no direction and adepartment that was moribund. We saw a fallin the manufacturing sector, particularly theemployment sector, to about 167,000. In otherwords, they axed all the support programs thatwe had in place in the most important sectorthat would provide the jobs, as I said earlier.They axed all of those programs—each andevery one of them. Mainly due to the efforts ofemployers over the two years of the BorbidgeGovernment and without support from theBorbidge Government, they managed to growit back to about 175,000 employed. That wasall the work of the employers.

Let me tell honourable members thattoday, seven months into Government, backworking with the manufacturing sector,providing the support for the manufacturingsector that Governments should to actuallygrow and broaden the economy, we have186,000 employed in the manufacturingsector. That is a rise of 11,000 employed inthis pivotal sector in the first six months of ourGovernment. The first six months of thecoalition Government saw a fall of 19,000 inthis critical sector. The first six months of thisGovernment, with support from Governmentworking with industry to provide the programsthat give them the opportunity to grow anexport base and an export culture, saw thegrowth of 11,000.

I see the member for Burnett, now back inhis new role as they shuffle the deckchairs—Slack by name, slack by nature—starting to criticise it. He should watch thisspace because he will find that with us workingwith the manufacturing sector over these yearsin Government we will provide the support thatis needed by that sector to actually grow arobust economy.

Time expired.

Crop Insurance; Stamp DutyMr COOPER: I refer the Minister for

Primary Industries to the recent spate of cropfailures and damage as a result of CycloneRona, the south-east Queensland floods andthe massive unseasonable rainfall across thegrain belt, and I ask the Minister: does heacknowledge that the assistance offered bythe Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority willbe of limited value to those farmers, giventhan many will not meet the narrow eligibilitycriteria, and will his Government now reinstatethe former Borbidge Government's widelyapplauded Budget initiative to abolish theunfair 8.5% stamp duty imposed on farmerswho insure their crops?

Mr PALASZCZUK: I welcome thequestion from the shadow Minister for PrimaryIndustries so that I can make a response tothe House in relation to the severe damagecaused by Cyclone Rona. In relation to thecrops, much of the pawpaw crop was close toharvest and, consequently, a large proportionof this fruit has been damaged and is notsuitable for sale. Similarly, large areas of thebanana crop have been damaged by highwinds.

The cyclone did not cause much structuraldamage to the Mossman sugar mill; however,the cane farmers all the way from Mossmandown to the Herbert River have been affectedby flooding and wind damage. It is too earlyyet to assess the economic impacts, butpreliminary estimates suggest a 20% reductionin sugar production, which equates to a loss ofbetween $50m and $60m. The affected areahas been declared a natural disaster area, andprimary producers can now access low interestloans through the Queensland RuralAdjustment Authority. I am pleased to informthe House that a team of QRAA officers havebeen travelling through the affected areas tomeet with producers and to assist with thelodgment of their applications.

In relation to the south-east corner, Ipersonally visited the Esk Valley and spoke tomany of the farmers there who were affectedby the flooding. I think most members in thisHouse and probably most people out there inthe community do not realise the severity ofthe flood that swept through the Gympie areaand through the South Burnett region. Theflood that swept through the Gympie areawould probably have been the most severeflood since 1893. The dairy farmers and cropfarmers in that area have been badly affected.I have taken on board many of their concerns.Together with industry—together with the fruitand vegetable growers and the canefarmers—


the Government, through the Department ofPrimary Industries, is putting together asubmission to the Federal Government forexceptional circumstances assistance.

We have taken on board the concernsabout the issue of stamp duty. I have beenspeaking to the Treasurer about it. It is abouttime the Opposition stopped bleating andharping at the Government and insteadbecame more positive about what thisGovernment is doing in relation to damage tocrops, to the sugar industry and to thelivelihoods of our very important farmers.

Job Creation

Mr LUCAS: I draw the attention of theTreasurer to the recent claims by theOpposition Leader that job creation inQueensland as a percentage of national jobcreation is half what it was, and I ask: what isthe Beattie Government's record on jobcreation in Queensland?

Mr HAMILL: The Courier-Mail article oflast Thursday entitled "Return of Dead ManWalking", which the Premier referred to earlier,certainly reminds us that some things simplydo not change. Firstly, the Leader of theOpposition loves talking down Queensland'sperformance. Secondly, truth and the Leaderof the Opposition rarely coincide.

The Leader of the Opposition claimed inhis article that job creation in Queensland as apercentage of national job creation is half whatit was. For the information of the Leader of theOpposition and indeed all honourablemembers of the House, I point out that in theperiod since the Beattie Government came tooffice—from July 1998 through to January1999—an average of 5,000 new jobs hasbeen created in each and every month. Thatlevel of job creation compares very favourablyindeed with every other jurisdiction in thecountry. In fact, the rest of the countrycombined could generate only 7,200 jobs permonth over the same period.

Mr Beattie: That is the issue; that is thepoint.

Mr HAMILL: That is the issue. If wecompare that with the performance of MrBorbidge's Government we find that jobcreation in Queensland has been stepped upconsiderably under this Labor Government. Infact, in the period the coalition was in office,job creation in Queensland averaged some3,200 per month. That is substantially belowthe 5,000 per month achieved under thisGovernment.

In other words, in the time of the BeattieGovernment, Queensland's share of all thenew jobs generated in Australia has beensome 41%. That compares more thanfavourably with the contribution of Queenslandunder the coalition, that is, 32%. One wonderswhere the Leader of the Opposition gets hisso-called facts.

Furthermore, this morning in theParliament we heard—and we saw it in thearticle of last week that I referred to—theLeader of the Opposition claiming thatunemployment in Queensland has gone up.Nothing could be further from the truth. Therehave been 35,000 new jobs created inQueensland under the Beattie Government.

Under this Government unemployment inQueensland is at its lowest level in nine years.Under this Government unemployment hasfallen to 8.2%—the lowest level in nine yearsand a level well below that ever reached whenMr Borbidge was Premier of Queensland. Ithink it is about time the Leader of theOpposition picked up his act—that is what hiscolleagues were saying to him last week—andstarted applying the facts rather than fantasy.

Minister for Fair Trading, Office Fit-out

Mr DAVIDSON: I ask the Minister forAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy andMinister for Women's Policy and Minister forFair Trading: given that she has stated publiclythat she was not aware of the finer details ofher office fit-out, is she now suggesting thatthis signature I am pointing to on thesedetailed plans is not her signature? Doessomebody else called Judy Spence work in heroffice or did she lie to the people ofQueensland?

Ms SPENCE: I am very happy to answerthe question. As the member for Noosa wouldbe aware, the plans he has in front of himhave two signatures on them that are mine.One plan is the sign-off for the electricity andpower points on the 18th floor of MineralHouse. The other plan is a sign-off for thelayout or the floor plan of Mineral House. Hedoes not have my signature on any costingsfor individual items——

Mr DAVIDSON: Mr Speaker, I rise to apoint of order.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point oforder.

Mr DAVIDSON: I have a point of order, MrSpeaker.

Mr SPEAKER: The question is beinganswered.


Mr DAVIDSON: You have to hear thepoint of order.

Mr SPEAKER: In the middle of ananswer?

Ms SPENCE: The former Minister doesnot have my signature on any costings forindividual items——

Mr DAVIDSON: I rise to a point of order,Mr Speaker. I now table for the information ofthe House a plan of the bathroom fittings,signed by the Minister for Fair Trading, MinisterSpence.

Ms SPENCE: We know that the memberfor Noosa has that plan. There are plans forthe layout. There are some items on someplans. There are no plans with any sign-off onthe costings. Let us look at how the formercoalition Government operated. The memberfor Noosa is trying to tell the Queenslandpublic that as a Minister I should be aware ofthe cost of every individual item that went intothe fit-out of the 18th floor of Mineral House. Iwould say that this is nonsense. Let us look atthe spending of his former ministerialcolleagues. In the time remaining I have theopportunity to look at only one former Minister.

Applying the logic of the member forNoosa, the member for Caloundra would havebeen aware, for example, that $8,231 wasspent on miscellaneous crockery andsilverware for her office fit-out. Let us notforget: the member for Caloundra took over avery well-equipped office in the ExecutiveBuilding that was vacated by the formerTreasurer, Keith De Lacy, yet she managed tospend another $8,000 on crockery andsilverware. She managed to spend anadditional $66,000 on accommodationalterations. She managed to spend $43,000on a security upgrade. She managed to spend$2,000 for ministerial signage. And shemanaged to spend over $48,000 altering theworkstations in that particular office.

Using the member's logic, the member forCaloundra would have been expected to knowthat the ice bucket purchased for her officecost $262 and that the Wedgwood plate sheate cake off—one plate—cost $177.

Time expired.

Property Marketeers, Gold Coast

Ms STRUTHERS: I ask the Minister forFair Trading: would she please inform theHouse why an unscrupulous property salestechnique, where purchasers are duped intobuying overpriced property in the belief thatthey are receiving negative gearing investment

advice, has been able to flourish on the GoldCoast in recent years?

Ms SPENCE: I thank the honourablemember for the question. I am sure manymembers have been wondering whyunscrupulous property marketeers wereallowed to flourish on the Gold Coast duringthe term of the coalition Government, rippingoff battlers from rural and regionalQueensland, interstate and overseas. Let usnot forget: the properties being sold by thesemarketeers are not being sold to their mates inthe white shoe brigade; they are being sold toordinary Australians, people who have a littlebit of extra money to invest in an investmentproperty.

I think many of us have been wonderingwhy these marketeers have been allowed tofrolic on the homefront of coalition membersrepresenting Gold Coast electorates such asthe member for Surfers Paradise, the memberfor Southport, the member for Nerang and themember for Merrimac. I think people would bewondering why former coalition MinisterBeanland introduced a rewrite of theauctioneers and agents legislation inParliament last year but failed to mention onceor to address the activities of thesemarketeers.

I think that people would be wonderingwhy the member for Noosa, who is sointerested in bathrooms, and who is supposedto be the Opposition spokesperson for FairTrading and consumers affairs—a bit oftautology there—has said nothing about thisscam and has allowed those people tooperate freely without drawing them to ourattention. But I have stopped wondering,because I have seen some information aboutthe Liberal Party's political donors. The reasonfor the appalling inaction of coalition membersis becoming very clear.

Now, there are a handful of names fromthe Who's Who of Gold Coast property dealerswho stand out as leaders of the marketeeringgame. One of them is Chris Bilborough, thefrontman for the Epic Group, formerly tradingas National Asset Planning Corporation. MrBilborough and his business practices havefeatured in media exposés. He is the same MrBilborough who has featured on lists of LiberalParty donors. In fact, this Mr Bilborough gavethe Liberal Party $10,000 in the year to 26October 1998. Now, that may be acoincidence, because there is more.

Rapcivic contractors of Surfers Paradisealso gave the Liberal Party $5,000 during thesame period. The sole director of Rapcivic isMr James Raptis. Is this the same Mr James


Raptis of the Raptis Group Ltd, which is nowtangled up in a complex legal case involving19 New Zealand investors who were badlyburned when they bought into the PhoenicianHealth Spa and Resort at Broadbeach?

Could this be why the member for Noosaand the rest of the coalition have not beenprepared to go out there and decry theactivities of the marketeers—the very peoplewho are spending money on their how-to-votecards?

Freehold Land Management

Mr LESTER: I ask the Minister forEnvironment and Heritage and Minister forNatural Resources: following the StateGovernment's decision to review vegetarianmanagement on freehold land, will he give aguarantee that his Government is committedto providing compensation for any monetary orresource loss that may result from the changesin the guidelines?

Mr WELFORD: I have not initiated anyreview of vegetarian culinary delights at all,and I have the full support of the UnitedGraziers Association

Playroom Nightclub; TallebudgeraRecreation Camp

Mr REEVES: I refer the Minister forTourism, Sport and Racing to media reportsthat the infamous Playroom nightclub on theGold Coast will cease to operate once theDepartment of Tourism, Sport and Racingpurchases the property as part of the plannedupgrade of the Tallebudgera RecreationCamp, and I ask: can the Minister inform theHouse why it would be ill advised for theGovernment department responsible for liquorlicensing to, at the same time, be the owner ofa licensed premises such as the Playroom?

Mr GIBBS: Firstly, let me say that Iappreciate the public support given thismorning by the honourable member forBurleigh, who has taken a most responsibleattitude in relation to this issue. She is aware,as I am, of the problems that have surroundedthat particular licensed establishment for anumber of years.

My ministerial colleague the member forCurrumbin made a statement in relation to thisissue some weeks ago, acting on advice frommyself to her that we were in fact prepared toallow the Playroom to stay open for anothertwo years pending conditions that we couldplace on the sale at that time. Unfortunately,over the past couple of weeks I have received

a personal approach on compassionategrounds from a solicitor representing theowner. The gentleman who owns thePlayroom is suffering from a terminal illnessand was keen to clear up his affairs—if I canuse that word. Hence, we brought forward thesale.

Encompassed within the sale price, ofcourse, is financial compensation for thecurrent lessees of the premises. Suffice it tosay that there have been problems, as allhonourable members would be aware. Formany years there have been problems withthat establishment, the least being patronswandering in an intoxicated state from thePlayroom into the Tallebudgera RecreationCamp, particularly when young kids have beenthere on school holidays. So it has a history ofproblems.

But there is a clear conflict of interest.Once it becomes a legal fact that we havepurchased the premises, my Department ofTourism, Sport and Racing and, morespecifically, the Liquor Licensing Division, willfind themselves in the position where indirectlywe almost become the licensees of thepremises. That is an intolerable position to bein. For example, if occurrences of under-agedrinking or other matters arose, we would berequired to take action against the lessee.There would be a clear conflict of interest; thedepartment would actually have to hearappeals against a sentence or a fine that itmay have handed down when it was actuallythe owner of the premises itself. That situationwould be unavoidable.

In addition to that, if we had continuedforward, it would have meant that thedepartment would probably be faced with asubstantial bill to upgrade the premises, whichI do not believe is in a very healthy state atpresent. The department would be forced tocensor acts that take place there. And anumber of unsavoury acts—if I can use thatterminology—have taken place there over theyears. It is simply an untenable situation for mydepartment. Quite frankly, the sooner theplace is knocked down, the better off thewhole community will be.

Heiner Documents; Forde Inquiry

Mr FELDMAN: I ask the Premier: in lightof Pat Comben's statements on the Sundayprogram, will the Premier make his positionclear on the question of Shreddergate andwhy his Government is not anxious for theForde inquiry to investigate the illegalshredding of the Heiner documents, and will


he assure this House that no other evidence ofchild abuse has been shredded?

Mr BEATTIE: My Government is the onlyGovernment that has established a full inquiryinto child abuse. The Forde inquiry was giventhe power to independently assess child abusein any institution. That includes the John OxleyYouth Detention Centre.

What has happened in relation to theHeiner issue is that there are morepersonalities and politics in it than in a fowlyard. It started about allegations of abuse. TheForde inquiry, which my Governmentestablished, gives the power to anindependent commission to look at thatabuse. Now, that is the central issue here—nothing else. That is it—black and white. If weare genuinely interested in getting rid of childabuse in institutions, we will allow the Fordeinquiry to get on with its work.

Let us be very clear about this. Childabuse in the John Oxley Youth DetentionCentre can be fully investigated and, Iunderstand, is being fully investigated by theForde inquiry—although that is a matter for theinquiry; I do not follow it on a day-to-day basis.It has the power to get to the bottom of thatissue. All of the other issues are, as far as I amconcerned, the result of a number ofpersonalities and a number of difficulties thathave emerged.

This came about because Beryce Nelson,a former Minister for Family Services—orwhatever it was then—established an inquirywhich was not properly established at law. Thatis exactly where all this came from. The formerNational Party Government was soincompetent that it could not even establish aninquiry to protect the witnesses.

Mr Borbidge: That's not right.Mr BEATTIE: The temporary Leader of

the Opposition may well want to interject, butthe bottom line is this: the National PartyGovernment that established that inquiry——

Mr Borbidge: You could have fixed thatup.

Mr BEATTIE: Does the Leader of theOpposition want to hear my answer? TheNational Party Government that establishedthat inquiry did not protect the witnesses, andthey ended up in a brawl. If members oppositeare really interested in eliminating childabuse—and I believe that all members of thisHouse should be—they will let the Fordeinquiry get on and do its work, and they will notworry about the politics.

As for the temporary Leader of theOpposition—he had two and a half years in

which to do something. If he wanted to dosomething about this, why did he not establishan inquiry into the Heiner matter? At the endof the day, he knows that no more publicfunds will be wasted on nonsense involvingHeiner.

Mr FELDMAN: I rise to a point of order.The Premier is avoiding the question. I alsoasked whether he would assure the Housethat any other evidence of child abuse was notdestroyed.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point oforder.

Mr BEATTIE: I made it absolutely clearthat the matters of child abuse will be fully andproperly investigated. But I can assure theHouse of this: not one cent more of taxpayers'money is going to be spent on the Heinernonsense. There have been more inquiriesinto the Heiner nonsense than I have had hotdinners, and that is it.

Electricity Industry Restructure

Mrs ATTWOOD: The Minister for Minesand Energy has outlined details of arestructure of the electricity industry. I acceptthat no rationalisation will occur. I ask: can heoutline the benefits to be gained from therestructuring of the distribution corporations?

Mr McGRADY: I thank the member forthe question, because she, like all memberson this side, is certainly interested in theelectricity industry and the recent restructure,which I believed captured the imagination of allQueenslanders. This restructure that theGovernment went through was not about costcutting. It certainly was not about job losses. Itwas about doing things better. Recently Itravelled up and down the State. I went toMackay, Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns,Maryborough, Dalby and Mount Isa. Iaddressed mass meetings. The first twoquestions I was asked at every one of thosemeetings was, firstly, "Who is the shadowMinister?" and, secondly, "Where is hehiding?" One day before the restructure wasannounced, a press release was issued by theshadow Minister saying, "This is going to costjobs." When the media went looking for him,they could not find him. I gave the media afew mobile numbers. I gave them the numberof his office. But the media could not find him.That is how much interest he had in therestructure.

Mr Elder: Did you call the police?

Mr McGRADY: No, I did not.


As I travelled the length and breadth ofQueensland, I delivered a message: there willbe no retrenchments; there will be noredundancies; there will be no forced transfers.That is the message that I gave to the peoplewho work in the industry. As I said a momentago, this restructure was all about trying to getthe Queensland electricity industry to workbetter. Everybody in this House and everybodyelse in this State knows that there wereproblems with the electricity industry. Theproblems were not with the people who workedin the industry; the problem was with the way itwas restructured by the coalition.

We have amalgamated the six regionalboards into one. We have done that to try tobring the regional boards closer, to try to makethe regional decision making far more efficient.The problem with members of the coalition isthat every time they talk about a restructureand every time they talk about efficiencies,they think that they have to retrench people.Fancy the shadow Minister coming out——

Time expired.

Irrigation Water Allocations

Mr SEENEY: I refer the Minister forNatural Resources to the document releasedby his department titled "CompensationPrinciples for Water Resources", which I tablefor the benefit of the Parliament. Thisdocument begins—

"All existing enforceable rights andentitlements are preserved ..."

I ask: are the existing irrigation waterallocations held by Queensland farmersenforceable by the Department of NaturalResources?

Mr WELFORD: The issue the member isreferring to——

Mr Seeney interjected.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member forCallide! I call the Minister.

Mr WELFORD: The issue the honourablemember is referring to has been addressed byour Government, the first Government in thehistory of Queensland to address the issue ofcompensation for rural communities in relationto water. Never before has a Governmentprovided a guarantee of compensation for theremoval of guaranteed water rights under aproper management plan for water resources.This Government is doing two things toimprove the security of the water entitlementsand, therefore, the economic security of ruralirrigators.

For the first time, we are undertakingcomprehensive water allocation andmanagement planning processes to get aclear fix on the resource that is available tothose irrigators. They have not had thatsecurity before. They have been issued withpermits—not legal rights, not property rights.They have been issued with mere permits toaccess water with no guarantee that therewould ever be sufficient water available tothem. This Government will give thatguarantee and back it up for the first time inhistory with a guarantee of compensationunder a water allocation management plan.We are going to do that in a way that will allowa two-year transition period into the firstallocation plan. We are also going toensure that anyone who suffers anyexceptional hardship will have assistance byway of a range of Government programsthrough that two-year period, whether it beunder new initiatives or under existinginitiatives such as the infrastructuredevelopment incentive that we will continue toprovide for.

Cooler Schools

Mr PEARCE: I refer the Minister forEducation to the Beattie Government's CoolerSchools program. I ask: how many extraschools have received funds under Labor'sCooler Schools program?

Mr WELLS: It is an honour to be asked aquestion by a man who is prepared to put hisown liberty on the line for the sake of thepeople he represents. The Honourable theAttorney-General referred to Mahatma Gandhiand Nelson Mandela. There are three of them:there is Mahatma, there is Nelson and there isJim. We are proud that we have Jim.

Before the last election, the Labor Partypromised that it would expand the CoolSchools zone to central Queensland. Wemade the promise, and then we kept it. Thisinitiative has meant that an extra 62,000schoolchildren in central Queensland are nowtaking advantage of the program. In addition,the Labor initiative provides twice theassistance to school communities by doublingthe subsidy that was offered previously by thecoalition in its neglected smaller zone. TheBeattie Labor Government has expanded thecoalition's program with an extra $48m, whichis providing cooling solutions to more than 200schools that would otherwise have been lefthot and sticky for an indeterminate period,because there was no coalition promise everto expand the zone.


Approval has already been given forairconditioning projects estimated at more than$9m in value in more than 100 schools in theexpanded zone, with school communitiesbenefiting from a doubling of the subsidy from$2 for $1 under the coalition to $4 for $1 underLabor. Some of the 65 schools from theformer Cool Schools zone are also getting anadditional subsidy benefit. Additionally, theLabor Government has decided to honour anunfunded promise by the former Premier tothe community of Moranbah. We did notpromise it; the coalition promised it. We keptthe promise even though it was unfunded. Weare providing funding to support airconditioningin the schools in Moranbah that were promisedas an election stunt by the coalition. We havedone that.

The expansion of the Cool Schools zoneto the Capricornia region has been ofenormous benefit. Let me say this very clearly:before the election, we said we would do it; weare now in office, we have commenced doingit; by the end of the term, we will havecompleted doing it. That is what we promisedto do; that is what we are doing; that is whatwe will have done.

Non-violent Civil Disobedience; Member forFitzroy

Mr SPRINGBORG: I refer the Honourablethe Attorney-General to his answer to anearlier question when he likened the memberfor Fitzroy to the South African President,Nelson Mandela, and also India's MahatmaGandhi and said that it was okay for people toengage in civil disobedience if the law is wrongand needs to be changed. Given hisstatement and analogy, I ask: which laws arewrong and should be changed?

Mr FOLEY: The honourable membermisstates my answer. I made it clear that thelaw must take its course. I made it clear thatthe member for Fitzroy must take theconsequences of his actions. That havingbeen said, I point out that it is also importantto acknowledge that there is a tradition of non-violent civil disobedience and that certainpeople acting out of conscience stand in thattradition.

The honourable the shadow Attorney-General does no service to this House byseeking to twist the words of my answer. Thehonourable member would do well to learnfrom the member for Fitzroy about a genuinecommitment to justice and inform himself notmerely of the letter of the law but of the spiritof justice which should inspire it.

Police StaffingMr MUSGROVE: I direct a question to the

Minister for Police and Corrective Services.Some people have sought to create theperception that more police are going into non-operational roles than on the beat, and I ask:can the Minister clear up confusion about thenumber of police being assigned to non-operational duties in police headquarters?

Mr BARTON: Yes, I certainly can. Policenumbers in non-operational duties at policeheadquarters have actually dropped from 227to 199 and civilianisation will further reduce thenumber of police in non-operational duties. Ishould also indicate that, while there has beena very slight rise in police numbers inoperational duties at police headquarters overthe past two years—a rise from 668 to 707—that represents a 5.8% increase comparedwith an overall increase in the Police Service of9.9%. That puts it in its context, because thosepeople who consistently run around the Statesaying that both the previous Government andthis Government have done a great job inputting in additional police but that they are allbeing sucked into headquarters in Brisbaneinstead of being out there in operational areas,frankly, are not telling the truth and are doingthe public a great disservice.

This Government is committed toincreasing operational police. We are doingthat. This perception that has been created bythose people that, in fact, police are not goinginto areas and that the numbers of police atpolice headquarters are growing unchecked isquite incorrect. The numbers of police that weare putting out into the areas are consistentwith Statewide growth in operational policenumbers and a decline in the number of non-operational officers.

The previous Goss Government startedthe civilianisation process of the Police Service.Certainly, that process was carried through bythe coalition. However, this Government isenhancing that process because it isabsolutely adamant that it is going to getpolicemen and policewomen and their supportstaff, such as police liaison officers, out thereat the cutting edge, out there in the field, onoperational duties, not sitting on seats in policestations, and certainly not in policeheadquarters.

The officers who are there who areoperational, and I will go through the list ofthem because it is important, make up thegreat bulk of the people who operate out ofheadquarters. The hundreds of police whomwe see coming and going from headquartersare not polishing seats; they are genuine,

28 Matters of Public Interest 2 Mar 1999

operational people. They are attached to theBureau of Criminal Intelligence; the CrimeOperations Branch, which conductsinvestigations into major crime; Disaster andMajor Events Planning; Forensic and TechnicalServices, which includes the fingerprint andscientific sections; and the Legal ServicesBranch, which includes the Police ProsecutionsCorps.

I am prepared to provide an attachmentto that list. I will table an attachment thatoutlines the staffing levels at Roma StreetPolice Headquarters as at 30 June 1997, 30June 1998 and 1 February 1999. I hope thatproves very clearly for everybody that, inreality, there are not increases in policenumbers attached to headquarters. Thosenumbers are actually reducing, and anyincrease in numbers is going into operationalareas. It is less than the average increaseacross the force, and those increases relate togenuine, operational people.

Goondiwindi State SchoolMr ELLIOTT: I refer the Minister for

Education to the plight of the GoondiwindiState School. I also refer the Minister to hishighly misleading assertion on ABC radio thatmore money is being spent on airconditioningschools than ever before, and I ask: is it not afact that funding for school airconditioning in1997-98 under the former coalitionGovernment was approximately $26.6m? Is itnot a fact that the Government's budget for1998-99 provides just $19.4m for schoolairconditioning—some $7.2m, or 27% lessthan under the coalition? Is it not a fact thatthis difference, this $7.2m, would be morethan sufficient to meet the needs ofGoondiwindi and many other small westernschools also suffering under harsh conditions?

Mr WELLS: As the honourable memberknows, Goondiwindi is outside centralQueensland and, therefore, outside the centralQueensland cooling zone. However, if Laborhad not been in power, it would have beenoutside the former Cool Schools zone,established by the coalition, and would havebeen outside the zone of schools that wouldhave been cooled then. The formerGovernment was not promising to expandthat.

Over the past couple of years,Goondiwindi State School has received $1m incapital works. It has benefited from capitalworks programs, but it is outside the coolingzone. Unlike Moranbah, where the formerPremier had made an unfunded promise—apromise that we were going to honour

because it was made when the Leader of theOpposition was Premier—there was no suchpromise in Goondiwindi. I asked the peopleconcerned whether they would see if theycould find any evidence that an undertakinghad been made to them by somebodycompetent to deliver on that undertaking.There was no such evidence.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! The time forquestions has expired.

MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST

Gordonstone Mine

Hon. R. E. BORBIDGE (SurfersParadise—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition)(11.35 a.m.): In recent weeks here inQueensland we have seen decent, law-abidingQueensland workers being prevented fromgoing home from their place of work. We haveseen decent Queensland workers beingdenied the opportunity to return home to theirwives and children after going about theirlawful business. Today, we have seen aGovernment that has not backed thosepeople. All honourable members in this placeagree that a right of dissent exists and is afundamental part of our democratic society;however, today, we have seen a Governmentthat has abandoned the rule of law.

Let us have a look at what has beenhappening at Gordonstone. A group ofhardened thugs has been standing outsidethe gates to that particular mine stopping otherQueensland workers, who were formerlyunionists, who formerly worked there andcame back, and others who joined the workforce, from going about their lawful and legalobligations.

No-one argues that that particular union,and indeed the honourable member forFitzroy, do not have a right to dissent, thatthey do not have a right to protest. That is notthe issue. We live in a democracy and, in ademocratic society, everyone has the right toprotest and dissent within the laws of the landas they apply. There is an obligation on everymember of Parliament, from the first law officerof the Crown down, to respect the sanctity ofthe law.

Today and in recent days we have seen aPremier, an Attorney-General, a Minister forMines and Energy and a Minister forEducation who have said, "If you do not likethe law, break it. It does not matter inQueensland any more." That is a recipe for ananarchy. When we have the Attorney-General,the Minister for Education, the Minister forMines, the Premier and the Government of the

2 Mar 1999 Matters of Public Interest 29

day saying, "It is okay to break the law", whatsort of message does that send to the rest ofQueensland?

No-one on this side has disputed the rightof dissent. That is not the issue. TheGovernment and this Parliament always havethe right to change the laws that govern us.However, in case the Premier and his Ministershave forgotten, I remind them that we alsotake an oath of office and that oath of office,by affirmation or before God, makes acommitment in respect of our duties andobligations as members of this place. Today,what has happened is particularly seriousindeed, because instead of saying, "We donot agree with the law. We are going tochange it", we have a Government saying, "Ifyou do you not like the law, break it. As part ofbreaking that law, if you want to stop lawfulQueenslanders going about their business,going to and from work, going home to theirwives and kids in an atmosphere where therehas been immense intimidation, that is okay."We have from the Premier, his Attorney-General, the Minister for Mines and theMinister for Education an open chequebookfor trade union thuggery in Queensland.

Of course, just to make it a bit easierdown the track, we are going to get newindustrial relations laws. It is interesting to notethat a couple of weeks back that can't doPremier leading a can't do Government foreveryone except his trade union mates said, "Icannot get involved in Gordonstone; it is aFederal dispute." Now the Premier is saying,"We can't have all this confrontation. I amgoing to use Gordonstone as an opportunity tochange the industrial relations laws in theState of Queensland." This is a massivecapitulation to the trade union movement.Worse than that, it is a total surrender by thisLabor Government to the thuggery that wesaw at Gordonstone that prevented ordinaryQueensland workers from going to work andgoing home to their wives and children.

Of course, it is more serious than thatbecause this Premier says that he is obsessedwith jobs. He keeps telling us that he isobsessed with jobs. We know that there aredanger signs on the horizon. We also knowthat the parent company at Gordonstone isRio Tinto. The member for Fitzroy placed hisleader in an incredible position on the eve ofthe Premier's visit to London to discuss withRio Tinto a potential $4.5 billion investment inthe State—potentially the biggest privateinvestment in the history of Australia with theexception of the North West Shelf project inWestern Australia.

This morning we had this incredibleremark about how people throughout historyhave stood up to oppression and thesuggestion that Mr Pearce's actions in havinghimself arrested for breaking the law andstopping other Queenslanders from goingabout their lawful business and returning homeis somehow akin to standing up against theNazis. The facts are simple. Queensland isbeing watched by the boardrooms of theworld. In case the member for Fitzroy does notknow it, there are lots of rocks around theworld, there is lots of coal around the world,and there are lots of Governments that aregoing out and chasing investment—andmeaning it—instead of mouthing emptyrhetoric such as we have heard from themember for Brisbane Central. This is aparticularly serious issue. It is an issue whichwill cause enormous damage to the State ofQueensland and to the job creation andinvestment projects that we want.

The comments of the Premier, theAttorney-General, the Minister for Educationand the Minister for Mines and Energy willsend a cold shiver down the spine of everyboardroom that is questioning whether it willinvest billions of dollars in Queensland andgenerate tens of thousands of jobs here or goelsewhere to such places as Malaysia,Indonesia, Argentina or those particularcountries in Africa where the circumstancesmay be better than they are here.

As I said earlier, no-one on this side of theHouse—as the Premier tried to suggest—hasa problem with the right to dissent. We are thedissenters by virtue of being on the Oppositionbenches in this place. We all have anobligation to respect the law. Obviously, whatwe are about to see in terms of new industrialrelations in this State is an industrial relationsregime that hands control lock, stock andbarrel to the union bosses in the biggestpolitical pay-off that we have seen inQueensland political history. We are about tosee the return of compulsory trade unionism.We are about to see the return of unionpreference. We are about to see new lawswhich mean that people such as the memberfor Fitzroy will be able to go about theirbusiness of disrupting the lives of otherswithout being accountable. We are about tosee old trade union labour back in town. Weare about to see legitimacy or a licence givento the sort of union thuggery that we haveseen at Gordonstone over the past few weeks.

I make a prediction here today, and it isthis: business will not come here and invest ifwe hear comments such as those we haveheard from the Government today. Business


will not invest here in the light of the statedposition of this Government in defendingsomeone who is prepared to be arrested whilstattempting to prevent lawful Queenslandersgoing about their legitimate business.Investors will go elsewhere. This Governmentcan forget about its 5% jobs target.


Mr PEARCE (Fitzroy—ALP) (11.45 a.m.):For years in this place I have been speakingabout the impact of the Federal Government'spolicies and industrial relations legislation oncentral Queensland towns but no-one hasbeen listening—not even National Partymembers of the Opposition who claim to bethe champions of the bush. Given the chanceto defend rural and isolated communities withactions greater than voter-friendly rhetoric, theNational Party has failed. Those oppositeattack my right to stand alongside myconstituents. They attack my right to choosehow I do that. It is a matter of choice. OneNation Party members sit in this place todaybecause voters feel that their electedmembers have let them down. I represent myelectorate and I am prepared to stand up andhave my say. It is my choice to do that.

The attack on me today by National andLiberal Party members of the coalition showsthat those opposite do not care about ruraltowns; they do not care about the decliningpopulation; and they do not care about theclosure of businesses and the withdrawal ofservices. Those opposite are more interestedin protecting the big end of town. The coalitionis big on showing its hatred for coalminers andtheir families. We have some five memberssitting on the other side of the House whohave coalmining communities in theirelectorates. Those opposite hate thecoalmining unions so much that——

Mr JOHNSON: I rise to a point of order. Ifind the remarks of the honourable member forFitzroy offensive. I ask him to withdraw hisremarks about members on this side of theHouse not standing up for rural communitiesand coalminers and for being anti-union. Ihave asked at all times that the CFMEU enterinto negotiations with regard to the Rio Tintojobs.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Reeves):Order! The member for Gregory has made hispoint of order.

Mr PEARCE: The honourable member isoffended because I make it very clear to thepublic that if he is not prepared to defend the

rights of his constituents, that is his problemand he has to live with it.

Mr JOHNSON: I rise to a point of order. Ifind those remarks offensive and I ask themember for Fitzroy to withdraw them.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Themember has asked for the remarks to bewithdrawn.

Mr PEARCE: I withdraw. In thesecommunities, small businesses are closing andfamilies are going bankrupt. It is important tonote that services which have been madeavailable to rural producers through the coalindustry are now under threat. Not oneNational Party member has expressed agenuine concern about the Rio Tintos of thisworld. These companies do not care for thepeople of the regions from which they minethe resources. I am determined to support myformer workmates and their families in theirstruggle.

Mr JOHNSON: I rise to a point of order. Ifind that remark offensive. I represent thepeople of Gordonstone in my constituency. Iask that those remarks be withdrawn.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! There wasno personal reflection.

Mr PEARCE: I will defend my formerworkmates and their families in their struggle todefeat the attack by Rio Tinto on the rights ofworkers to get their jobs back and to bemembers of unions of their choice. I totallyreject the behaviour of Rio Tinto. I stand withmy constituents on this issue. I am not goingto hide under an office desk because I am amember of the Government. I will do what myconstituents expect of me as their localmember. I will go in fighting for them, even ifthat action puts at risk my political career. Mystand at Gordonstone was as a result ofconcern for the community within myelectorate and the many other rural towns thatare dying because the lifeblood of thosecommunities, that is, the people, are movingout. These are towns that National Partymembers talk about but fail dismally to activelysupport.

My electorate takes in a big slice ofcentral Queensland. I have lived in small ruralcommunities. I went to school in those smallrural communities. I know the lifestyle. I knowthe sincerity of the people. I talk to myconstituents in the shopping centres, theschools, the hospitals, the hotels and atsporting events. I see marriage breakdownand financial ruin. I see alcohol abuse. I oncetravelled several hours late at night to talk to aman contemplating suicide. That was the worst


drive of my life. I did not know what to expectwhen I walked through the door. I know thesepeople. I am one of them and I care aboutthem. Jobs are disappearing, lives are beingdestroyed, communities are falling down,school numbers are dropping, health servicesare not being utilised to the expected levels,and wives and partners feel that they have nofuture in many of these towns as they losefriends and opportunities for sporting andcommunity involvement. Perhaps I ambecoming a bit emotional and distressedabout this issue, but I cannot forget for oneminute that these are my constituents. I amcommitted to them and I do not care what Ihave to do to support them.

Perhaps we should take a look at the realreason for the attack on unions by the FederalGovernment and the multinationals, and thatis that unions deliver higher wages andconditions. Howard and Reith tell us that thereis a need to deunionise Australian workplaces.They say that that is a requirement forincreased productivity. Australian Governmentsand conservative politicians need to look veryclosely at a report published in a recent issueof Scientific American. Opposition membersshould not get too excited about this, becausethe report was not commissioned by theunions. The unions had no input. It wascommissioned by the New York FederalReserve Bank and Tufts University in the US.After surveying 1,500 workplaces, it was foundthat companies that use unionised workers are27% more productive than those that employnon-union workers. This report makes the likesof Arco, Rio Tinto and their conservative matesHoward and Reith look pathetic in their attackon the Gordonstone workers.

This work force has broken world coalproduction records—the same work force thatcannot now get a job at Gordonstone.Members should let that point sink in. Theyhave proven that with the support ofmanagement they can produce the coal. Atthe Crinum mine, operated by BHP, the unionsand management are working together. Theyare working as a team and are proving thatthey can produce coal and be a verycooperative and productive organisation.

The findings of the report of which I spokeexpose Rio Tinto's real purpose. With the helpof Reith, they are determined to dramaticallyreduce the wages and conditions of mineworkers and eventually the Australian workforce. The end result will be a massive pool ofcheap labour, where workers will cut oneanother's throat to get a job. We have to lookfurther than just at what is happening atGordonstone. The problem in this country is

that we look only at what is happening today.We have to look further down the track andsee what this is all about. It is about reducingthe wages and conditions of workers andlowering standards so that the attack can thenbe refocused, not just on the workers from thecoal industry or the wharves but on every otherworker in this country. If the standards of onesection of workers are lowered, the door isopened to reduce the wages and conditions ofother workers.

The examination last year by the USBureau of Labour Statistics of wages andconditions for union members and non-unionmembers doing the same work in the sameplace found that, on combining the value ofwages and conditions, union members onaverage received 40% more than non-unionmembers. And therein lies the issue.Deunionise the workplace and the way isopened for an assault on all wages andconditions. The scabs at Gordonstone arecommitting an unforgivable offence againstthe future quality of life for Australian workersand their families.

The Emerald community is caught up inthe propaganda of Rio Tinto. Businesses inEmerald will one day realise that they havebeen conned by mine manager Hannigan—aman paid a big wage to destroy the lives ofworkers and their families, to shut downbusinesses and to reduce that town'spopulation. For years I have been saying—andI will keep standing in this place sayingthis—that if the work force is taken out of thecommunity, it impacts on everybody who livesin that community. It is no good our speakingin this place and in the media about thedemise of rural communities if we do not havethe guts to stand up and fight for all of thecommunities and the people we represent.This fellow at Gordonstone is a temporaryQueenslander. He will move on. In the yearsahead, the businesses and I will still be there,but Hannigan will move on. After he has donethe damage, he will go off and hide under astone somewhere and the people of centralQueensland will be left to clean up the mess. Iam not ashamed of standing up for the peoplein my electorate, and I will continue to do so inthis place and at the grassroots level in myarea.

Maleny State High School, Land Acquisition

Mr QUINN (Merrimac—LP) (DeputyLeader of the Liberal Party) (11.55 a.m.): On18 September last year, the Minister forEducation was asked a so-called questionwithout notice by the so-called Independent


member for Nicklin which sought to imply thatthe former coalition Government had actedimproperly in relation to the acquisition of landadjoining the Maleny State High School. Thiswas a wilful attempt to smear the coalition. Itwas a scurrilous and totally baseless slur thatwas quite explicit in the member for Nicklin'ssubsequent comments to the media in whichhe referred to "lifting the lid on something thatsmells and smells something shocking".

The intended smear was also evident inthe Minister's emphasis of the fact that"negotiations took place before thisGovernment took office and during thecaretaker period". Their rank suggestion ofimpropriety was totally repudiated by theAuditor-General, who investigated theacquisition and found that "the process wasconducted in an objective and prudent mannerand was soundly based". He concluded alsothat the timing of negotiations was not relatedin any way to last year's election.

Meanwhile, we have done a littleinvestigating of our own and lifted the lid on afew offensive smells coming from the otherside of the fence. For a start, we haveuncovered an advance copy of this so-calledquestion without notice, which I table for thebenefit of the House. Education Queenslandconfirmed that this draft was prepared by theMinister's staff at his direction—a so-calledquestion without notice. In my view, the factthat this question and answer was prepared inadvance of Parliament, with the Minister's fullknowledge, gives it the status of a preparedstatement. In other words, the Minister canhardly claim whatever latitude might otherwiseattach to an off-the-cuff response to a genuinequestion without notice from a trueIndependent. He must also accept someresponsibility for the question itself, which washighly misleading and factually inaccurate.

I note that neither the Minister nor themember for Nicklin have yet apologised to theHouse for falsely claiming that the agreementwas reached with the landowner "on 29 June,the very day the coalition lost Government",despite my drawing this to their attention lastOctober. The Government actually changedhands three days earlier, on 26 June, whenthe member for Brisbane Central was sworn inas Premier. More than anyone else, themember for Nicklin was responsible for thatchange. He was the central player—the king-maker. At the time, he claimed that thatdecision was the hardest of his life, so it defiesbelief that he could have forgotten such asignificant date within a few short months. It iseven harder to believe that both the Ministerand he could have confused such a significant

date in what was essentially a preparedstatement. Furthermore, the very nature oftheir contrived question and answer was clearlydesigned to mislead the House by falselyimplying that—

the former coalition Government hadacted improperly during the caretakerperiod;

the acquisition was other than a routinetransaction negotiated at administrativelevel;

there was legitimate cause for concern,when all the evidence indicated otherwise;and

the agreement was a fait accompli whichwas binding on the incoming LaborGovernment.

This is not the first time the Minister forEducation has misled the House. In its recentreport on that subject in November, theMembers' Ethics and Parliamentary PrivilegesCommittee reiterated that Ministers owe thehighest duty of disclosure to the House andshould always ensure that informationprovided is accurate. The committee alsoreaffirmed that the term "misleading" is widerthan "false" or "incorrect". It noted that thedeliberate omission of relevant informationcould make an otherwise factually correctstatement misleading. The omissions in thiscase were scandalous. The cynical collusionbetween the Minister and the member forNicklin means that they are both implicated inthis disgraceful affair and equally culpable.

Key omissions included the informationthat—

there was not the slightest whiff ofimpropriety in the thousands ofdocuments on this acquisition dating backto the 1980s;

the "without prejudice" settlement offer of$650,000 was only a fraction of the sumsought by the landowner and significantlyless than relocation costs;

the "in principle" agreement was stillsubject to a number of conditions,including funding approval which by thencould only be granted by the incomingBeattie Government;

the five-page Executive Council Minutedetailing the basis for that approval inAugust was formally noted by theMinister's Director-General, DeputyDirector-General, five Assistant Directors-General and the Director for StrategicPlanning and Policy without any apparentconcern or adverse comment;


the legal Deed of Settlement was draftedin the name of Rodney Jon Welford—thecurrent Minister for Natural Resources inthe Beattie Labor Government;

following the unexpected backlashagainst the announcement, the memberfor Nicklin attended a Country Cabinetmeeting in Nambour at which the issuewas discussed almost two weeks beforehe raised it in the House;

the local District Director for EducationQueensland also gave the member forNicklin a personal briefing on the issueapproximately one week before he raisedit in the House;

a departmental briefing note dated 16September—two days before the issuewas raised in the House—recommendedsettlement and advised the Minister forNatural Resources that the proposedpayment of $650,000 was considered fairand reasonable; and

on 17 September—just one day beforethe issue was raised in the House—theDepartment of Natural Resources wrote toEducation Queensland advising that therewere no known circumstances whichmight call the transaction into question.

These omissions concealed the fact thatboth the Minister for Education and themember for Nicklin knew or should have knownthat there was absolutely no basis whatsoeverto imply impropriety by the former coalitionGovernment. Yet that is exactly what they did.They also failed to correct an apparent mistakein Hansard which gives the distinct impressionthat the $650,000 compensation was paid on24 June when, in fact, it was not paid untilsome considerable time after this issue wasraised in the House.

This very convenient mistake, whichshould have been corrected by the Minister atthe time, compounded his offence by lendingweight to the scurrilous inference that a dodgydeal was rushed through in the final days ofthe former Government. Our researchers havealso been combing through thousands ofdocuments for months and have advised methat they have yet to find in them a singlemention of Ministers in the former Borbidgecoalition Government, although there arenumerous references to Labor Ministers, bothpast and present.

In my view, the factual inaccuracies andstudious omission of so much criticalinformation in what was essentially a preparedstatement by the Minister for Education canonly be regarded as a wilful attempt to mislead

the House. It also seems that the member forNicklin was a willing accomplice in thisdeception and actively colluded with theMinister in seeking to divert attention from theirown inept handling of the land acquisition andannouncement. In my view, their scurrilousattempt to falsely smear the former coalitionGovernment was a disgraceful abuse of theHouse.

Townsville-Thuringowa Migrant ResourceCentre

Mr REYNOLDS (Townsville—ALP)(12.02 p.m.): Today I would like to stress theneed to recognise and incorporate regionalinitiatives in State multicultural policies,programs and resource allocations. TheTownsville-Thuringowa Migrant ResourceCentre is one of the oldest such centres inAustralia. I say that today with a great deal ofpride. The centre provides valuable services tomore than 40 migrant communities in northQueensland and serves a very large regionfrom Bowen in the south to Tully in the north. Ithas acted as a major resource for newlyarrived and established migrants in northQueensland for some 19 years. In that time ithas evolved to become one of the mostprogressive migrant resource centres one willfind anywhere. It is the only migrant resourcecentre in Queensland which still attracts fullfunding from the Commonwealth Government.

The Townsville-Thuringowa MigrantResource Centre's continuing relevance andimportance to the region is indicated by thefact that it assists 40 to 50 clients daily. Thecentre's helpful staff and army of volunteersprovide a range of services such as Englishliteracy training to overcome communicationdifficulties, a very successful jobs club andeducational and legal services as well. Staffalso offer day-to-day management, forexample, helping new migrants to settle in andliaising on their behalf with a number ofGovernment departments, local authoritiesand other businesses and bodies throughoutthe community.

The Townsville-Thuringowa MigrantResource Centre has a long history ofdevelopment which shows that it is alwayslooking for new ways to serve the Townsville-Thuringowa community and, indeed, thesurrounding region as well. It is a grassrootsorganisation which is in a position to veryquickly identify newly emerging needs in thecommunity. It is always busy planning ways tosatisfy those needs and to implement newideas. It operates from a very innovative andcreative base. Current projects initiated by the


Migrant Resource Centre include a mentalhealth access project and an ethnic childliaison project.

The centre's annual CulturalFest, which isattended by thousands of people, exemplifiesthe focus of the centre, which is the promotionof cultural diversity and racial harmony. Thefestival is recognised as one of the best andmost inclusive festivals of its kind in thecountry. It is unique in style with a capacity toinclude all groups in the community—indigenous Australians, newly arrived andestablished migrants and the broader, so-called mainstream community as well. Itfosters understanding and goodwill betweenAustralians of many different cultures andbackgrounds, and can I say today in theHouse that it is an extremely popular annualevent.

I believe that multicultural policies andresource allocations should tap into theregional expertise, experiences andachievements of organisations such as theTownsville-Thuringowa Migrant ResourceCentre. Multicultural policy should start at thegrassroots where the community is at in termsof current experiences and initiatives andshould always strive to remain current andremain relevant to the people it is supposed toserve. Policy and resource allocation shouldnever be outdated or outmoded, reflecting theexperiences and theories that may have beencurrent 10 to 20 years ago.

Policies should also reflect the differentrealities that exist in different regions of thisdecentralised and diverse State ofQueensland. There is not necessarilyconformity in multicultural experience acrossQueensland. Townsville and Thuringowa, forexample, are extremely fortunate to have theMigrant Resource Centre in the region and tohave had that successful centre for the last 19years. Communities in most other areas ofQueensland do not enjoy such a wonderfulservice. So Government guidelines forresource allocations must, I believe, beflexible. We must factor in regional differencesacross Queensland in the same way as wemust factor in cultural differences as well.

As a community, Townsville andThuringowa have moved a long way since the1980s with regard to cultural diversity. Both interms of the social fabric, or multiculturalcomposition of the community, and in terms ofthe experiences and achievements of migrantsat the local level we have achieved a greatdeal. We are, indeed, a much strongermulticultural community than we were 10 or 20

years ago, and policy development andresourcing questions need to recognise thisreality. They need to connect and complementlocally initiated projects and experiences.

Our region is changing on a day-to-daybasis and State officials need to remain intouch with this reality. They cannot applyBrisbane scenarios to Townsville, just asTownsville cannot assume that its realities arereflected in other regional Queensland cities.This is an area of policy which ought to besensitive to difference, be it regional differenceor cultural difference. And a sensitivity todifferences involves flexibility in policyformulation and resource allocation as well.We cannot be seen to impose our policy andprograms from above, insisting that Statewideguidelines be rigidly implemented at the costof local diversity. We must start from below,changing our policies and our programs inconsultation with local communities. Perhaps,can I say today, it is time that we undertook areview of our multicultural policies andprograms to ensure that they do reflect thoselocal and regional realities.

If State officials working in areas such asMulticultural Affairs Queensland do not consultregional grassroots organisations such as theTownsville-Thuringowa Migrant ResourceCentre, they are in danger of, at best,duplicating services already provided and, atworst, contradicting, dividing and misallocatingresources. In other words, they will undo theexcellent work that is done at the communitylevel.

I also suggest that local members andcivic leaders be consulted before guidelines forprograms are drawn up. Consulting after theguidelines have been drawn up by the Officeof Multicultural Affairs is an insult. Our localknowledge and experience can inform theprocess of resource allocation and ensure astrong match between policy and need. I thinkthat connection is a must.

It is a fair expectation that departmentalofficers will consult and work in with communityorganisations rather than work against them. Itis a fair expectation that they will be sensitiveto the philosophies of the Government theyserve. It is a fair expectation that they will havean important local and regional focus and notbe Brisbane oriented or south-eastQueensland oriented. Queensland is the mostdecentralised State in Australia. Each regionhas its own story to tell in terms ofmulticulturalism and diversity and in terms of itsculture and its community. State officials musthave their ears open to the differences inregional experience.


I conclude by thanking my colleague theParliamentary Secretary to the Premier onmulticultural affairs for the work he has donewith me in these community areas. I stress theneed to recognise and incorporate regionalissues into State multicultural policies,programs and resource allocations.

Minister for Fair Trading, Office Fit-out

Mr DAVIDSON (Noosa—LP) (12.11 p.m.):The Premier has not restored integrity to andpublic faith in the process of Government; hehas removed them. It is typical of the Premierand his Government that they say one thingand do the opposite. "The debate tonightgives all members an opportunity to stand upfor honesty and integrity without any excuses."So said Premier Beattie on 28 November 1996when speaking to his own motion of censureagainst the then Minister for Police. He wenton to say—

"We will set our standards high. Wewill have the highest possible standards.Not only will we have a written set ofguidelines; all of my Ministers willunderstand that they have to abide by thesame unwritten code of decency, ethicsand morality to which the vast majority ofdecent, law-abiding Queenslanderssubscribe. In other words, they will all becommitted to doing the right thing."

How often in this House do words andpromises come back to haunt the pompousdeclarations of Labor Governments, claimingfor themselves the high moral ground onstandards, ethics and decency in the name ofall Queenslanders? How have they now comeback to haunt the Premier in the form andperformance of his Minister for Fair Trading?We all remember the promises made to MrWellington when he was being wooed byPremier Beattie. Under the heading of"Ministerial Responsibility", these were thepromises—

"I concur with the probity you haveplaced on imposing stringent guidelineson ministerial financial arrangements,including ministerial travel, entertainmentand office expenses.

I will insist on nothing less thancomplete probity in the way Ministersmeet their obligations to the Government,the Parliament and the electorate and willput in place systems to achieve full andopen disclosure of ministerial expenses tothe Parliament on a regular basis."

Mr Beattie then went on to outline what theguidelines for these systems would be,

including six-monthly reports to the Parliamenton ministerial expenses, provided in a formatthat is readily understandable by thecommunity. Has Mr Wellington, or anyone elsefor that matter, yet seen one of these six-monthly ministerial expense reports? Theanswer, of course, is that he has not, andneither has anyone else. If we had, theMinister for Fair Trading and her colleague theMinister for Public Works would not now beinvolved in a giant cover-up.

The Honourable Minister for Fair Tradinghas put herself and the Premier, as so aptlyexpressed by the Melba column in theAustralian newspaper of 9 February, "in thepoo right now". How has she found herself inthis mire? It is through the simpleconvenience, if members will pardon the pun,of formulating an expenditure in excess of$600,000 on the upgrading of her office, whichincludes the purchase of a $93 toilet brush,and then having, at the most generous ofcomment, the unmitigated gall to tell thepeople of Queensland that she really hadnothing to do with this state of affairs and thatit really was the fault of departmental officers.

This simple excuse was then furthercompounded by the Premier when he accusedsome public servants of having a "sense ofunreality" in this matter, as if these samepublic servants had instigated thisrefurbishment proposal. Was this what thePremier meant back in November 1996 whenhe said "we will set the highest possiblestandards"? A $600,000 refit of the Minister'soffice certainly comes in highest possiblestandards bracket when it comes to dippinginto the public purse.

The highest possible standards asexpressed by the Premier and then followedby his Minister for Fair Trading come down tonothing more than passing the buck when theMinister tried to transfer the blame for thisdebacle onto senior bureaucrats by saying thatshe had only had brief discussions withdepartmental officers about the plannedrenovations. Does the Minister really expectthis House and the people of Queensland,who, as the Premier had so eloquently said,expect the right thing to be done, to believethat she had seven different meetings withdepartmental officers and never oncediscussed the costs of what she proposed?Does she really expect this House to believethat during those seven different meetings theonly reason she was in attendance was tohear from senior bureaucrats about the colourof the walls or the colour of the tiles proposedfor this taj mahal and that she had noknowledge of the fundamental work being


proposed, including specifically the final cost ofsuch a project?

She had no knowledge of such a finedetail and no idea of the final cost of thisexpensive project? This from a Minister for FairTrading who, as reported in the Courier Mail of6 February, advised consumers that hagglingover prices was part of a bargain hunter'sarmory! She said that, while many largedepartment stores would match a cheaperprice, consumers generally had a betterchance of haggling in small shops. Despite hergratuitous advice to the average punter, therewas no sign of any haggling in this matter—noteven a care about the price, to quote her ownstatements to the press. What a convenientlapse of memory on seven different occasions!What an insult to the intelligence of everyQueenslander!

Again, as if to reinforce her "not me"performance, in a letter to the editor of theCourier-Mail on 11 February she attempted toconceal her activities in this affair by involvingthe Director-General of the Department ofPublic Works, Mal Grierson. She informed thepublic at large in a memo provided to themedia on Monday, 8 February by Mr Griersonthat he attests to attending some—note theword "some"—meetings where discussionfocused on a possible location for the newlyformed department and the number ofdepartmental staff that would be attached tothe new director-general's office. One wouldnaturally assume that this was the type ofdiscussion a Director-General of Public Workswould have, but if the Director-General of theDepartment of Public Works attended onlysome meetings—not the seven meetings thatapparently took place—how can he attest towhatever was discussed at the meetings hedid not attend? In a further comment in thisletter, the Minister states—

"Further, two officers in charge of thedesign and refit said our meetings dealtwith layout and space allocations...notbathroom fittings and their costs."

Really! There was never a query about thecost of this extravagance? As Ministerresponsible for the department having thework done, does she really mean that costsdid not interest her, that she never once askedwhat all the mooted changes were going tocost the taxpayer? If this is what she expectsus to believe, is it not an amazing exposition ofa complete lack of management skills andacumen? But then, the Minister's backgroundof management skills related to profit and lossand inevitable need to know about costs is notone that would engender confidence in her

ability to manage any operation in abusinesslike manner. As a final and partingcomment in the letter she claims—

"The Opposition's obsessive claimsthat I priced and selected bathroomfittings speak volumes abut its failure tochallenge the substance of my policywork."

I suggest to the Minister that in her next letterto the editor she tells us all what that policywork actually entailed so that we might mounta challenge. Up to this moment, policy workfrom this Minister is virtually non-existent. Butwhat is in existence is her repeated attemptsto deflect responsibility for her actions in thismatter. If this is how she proposes to run adepartment which requires all those whoseactivities come within its scope to practise thehighest possible business ethics, then she isunfit to manage and control such a portfolio.And it would appear that not only her memorysuffered severe amnesia in relation to thismatter, but so did those non-existentmanagement skills, so required at the higheststandards to run a portfolio such as FairTrading, when it comes to followinginstructions.

In a memorandum sent to Ministers bythe Premier on 10 July 1998 titled "Ministerialoffices", her boss—the Honourable thePremier—stated—

"If you have any plans in relation tolocation of your Ministerial office or on anyexpenditure related to out-fitting youroffice, I want to be advised in writing andwill personally approve."

Let me repeat those words—

"... any expenditure related to out-fittingyour office, I want to be advised in writingand will personally approve."

No doubt that was the written set of guidelinespromised by Mr Beattie in November 1996.

Did Minister Spence alert the Premier inwriting about the $600,000 refit that she reallycannot remember much about—as requestedby the Premier's memo? Did the Premierpersonally approve this expenditure? It wouldappear that none of this occurred; that sheforgot to tell the Premier about this insignificantexpenditure, because the outcome of thesearrangements—to spend $600,000—hadcaused the Premier to, as he stated in theCourier-Mail on 9 February, "adopt a razorgang approach to government." He said—

"I am going to make certain everyMinister and every department keep theirfeet on the ground."


Surely that was an unnecessary statement, ifhis promises to Mr Wellington of accountabilityevery six months had been in place.

Mr Beattie addressed a press conference,which also highlighted the probability of$500,000 being spent in the Deputy Premier'soffice. "Let me tell you, the good times areover", Mr Beattie thundered. All this was afterthe memorandum of 10 July, which expressedthe view of the Premier that—

"I realise that this is an additionalburden, but believe in the circumstances itis an essential process."

An essential process? Obviously the Ministerfor Fair Trading does not think thatmemoranda to Ministers from "the Boss" andtheir contents apply to her. For if she did, therewould have been a personal approval from thePremier—the essential process.

Time expired.

State Purchasing Policy

Ms BOYLE (Cairns—ALP) (12.21 p.m.):Unlike the previous speaker, I rise to speakabout a matter of very considerableimportance to business, to economic growthand to regional development in this State ofQueensland. I refer to the State PurchasingPolicy and the very welcome review beingconducted by the Minister for Public Worksand Minister for Housing, Robert Schwarten.

On 21 February this year, Mr Schwartenannounced plans to stage a series of regionalforums on the policy. I promise him and hisstaff a vibrant and vigorous forum indeedwhen the one in Cairns is programmed. In thelast couple of years, regional business hasbeen locked out of many of the opportunitiesprovided by Government departments in theirrole as hirers and purchasers of goods andservices.

Of course, it is important for Cairns, the farnorth and other regions to have a fair go whenit comes to securing some of the funds spentby Government on goods and services. Surelyregional businesses deserve that opportunity.But more than that, it means that Governmenthas an opportunity, by taking care of regionalbusinesses, to facilitate the development ofbusiness in regional areas and thereby tofacilitate the excellent and much-neededemployment growth.

This morning, the House heard mentionof the Minister for State Development'sintensive work to recover from several years inthe wilderness without an industry policy. Inparticular, I give him credit for his close work

with the Cairns Regional EconomicDevelopment Corporation towards developingindustry in the far north region. CREDC, as it isknown, has made the very clear point in the farnorth that the most important thing that wecan do is look after our existing businesses;that, as glamorous as it may be to go courtingnew businesses and to bring business to theregion, unless we have existing healthybusinesses and assist those existingbusinesses to expand, then true economicgrowth will not be stable and secure and ofbenefit to our long-term future.

The State Purchasing Policy works veryclosely with that role taken by the Minister forState Development. I compliment MinisterSchwarten for his recognition that looking afterbusiness in regional areas is essential.Presently, however, it has not happened. It didnot happen under the previous Government,and it is not happening presently, becausethere is a lack of focus in those who award thepurchasing contracts. There is a lack ofunderstanding on the part of manybureaucrats who have been raised and haveworked their entire lives in the south-eastcorner of Queensland of the particularexigencies and the particular skills andcapabilities that apply to businesses in regionalareas. There has been a mushrooming ofBrisbane-based bureaucrats who are familiarand comfortable with their dealings withBrisbane-based business, arrogant in their jointrecognition of the tremendous capacity andexperience—true as they may be—that manybusinesses in Brisbane have, but unwilling toreally open their eyes and to look wider acrossthis great State for the excellence and theopportunities for business growth that areavailable in regional areas.

As to the lockouts, through the StatePurchasing Policy, to regional business—someare subtle, and others are not so subtle. Iwould like to examine some of those for theHouse today. Firstly, I mention the lack oftransparent performance reviews of those whohave obtained previous contracts. Too often inregional areas we have seen contractsawarded to Brisbane-based companies whichdo not then perform as they had claimed to beable to do in their original tender documents.Unless their performance is truly monitoredand then taken into account when they tenderfor further contracts, there is a degree ofunfairness against others who were on that listand who may have performed better.

There is a bias apparent in those whoaward contracts that big and central is bestand easiest; how much easier to award justone contract to cover the State than it is to go

38 Address in Reply 2 Mar 1999

to the trouble of dividing contracts regionally;how easy it is to be wooed by a business thathas a large corporate profile and a longhistory, as though that necessarily makes forbetter performance than a company that isnewer and has a shorter company profile.

Another lockout occurs in that smallcompanies do not have the resources torespond to the amazing requirements fordocumentation and information required bythe central purchasing agency. Forbusinesses—particularly in the areas ofconsultancies, where two or three consultantsin a regional area may work together—to havethe time to provide the kinds of detail requiredto submit for a consultancy is beyond theirresourcing. This unwieldy document, which Ihave seen recently through the letting of asmall tender in Cairns, locks out smallcompanies, innovative companies andregional business.

In one recent call for consultancies, 38pages went out to those companies whichexpressed an interest and, of those, only twopages were relevant to the particular contract.Thirty-six pages were relevant to StateGovernment guff, to protections, to probitiesand to requirements for information beyondthe reach of small companies not practisedand without the overhead to provide this levelof detailed information.

So what can we do then, if we areserious—as I know the Minister is—aboutassisting regional business to have a fair go,not for the purchasing policy to be biased infavour but simply to give the regions a fair go?We can do simple things like having thereceipt of documentation and the final place atwhich submissions must be deposited inregional areas. For those companies in the farnorth simply to have their submissions back toBrisbane by 12 noon means that they lose afull day in the preparation of thatdocumentation as compared to Brisbanecompanies. This is unnecessary and can easilybe remedied by the reopening and the re-establishment of tender boxes in regionaloffices.

The documentation itself should berationalised. I suggest that it be reviewed byprivate sector companies—big, medium andsmall—which may then comment on what aresurely the discriminating clauses that will allowthose who award tenders to decide betweenthem, as distinct from the rhetoric ofGovernment protection and accountability,which could be published separately as amatter of course in another booklet. We couldallow our contracts, as we let them, to be

considered as suitable for different sizedbusinesses and to look, with smaller contracts,for the opportunity for smaller companies tohave a chance to prove themselves and togrow their business. We can look for theopportunity to source locally. Of course,sourcing locally is generally going to meancheaper costs to Government and thereby tothe taxpayers.

We can look for contract administration tobe conducted in local areas where, in fact, thecontracts have been let. Monitoring thecontracts from Brisbane allows for a possiblemisunderstanding of the real level ofperformance of those companies in regionalareas. And yes, we can give specialconsiderations in regions to joint venturetenders—to arrangements that really do reflectthe direction of business that is wanting togrow through strategic alliances. Presently, welock out small groups of businesses wanting towork together to bid for Government contracts.

Transparency is, of course, the importantword. However the contracts are let, and withwhatever weighting the contracts arecompared, we must ensure that this is open;that the performance of the winner of thosecontracts is transparent and openly assessedand, thereby, that at least it is truly a fair go.Because only through giving regionalbusinesses a fair go can we be sure that theywill have contracts that will allow them tocontinue to employ their staff in regional areas,to take on apprentices, to take on trainees andto keep the very important regional areas ofQueensland vibrant and economically alive.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Apology

Hon. D. M. WELLS (Murrumba—ALP)(Minister for Education) (12.31 p.m.), by leave:I repeat my much earlier apology to the Housefor inadvertently tabling an incorrect list and forincorrectly stating, though I believed it to betrue at the time, that differences in computerequipment between two particular schoolswere due to the Leading Schools program. Ialso repeat, as I have previously told theHouse, that information about the educationalvalue of computers to a particular specialschool child, which I gave to the House on 30July last year, was an anecdote told to me atthe school and not an observation.

ADDRESS IN REPLY

Resumed from 6 August 1998 (seep. 1777).

2 Mar 1999 Address in Reply 39

Mr PEARCE (Fitzroy—ALP) (12.32 p.m.),continuing: In winding up my contribution tothis debate, I point out that there are manymore issues in central Queensland and theFitzroy electorate that could be raised.Unfortunately, time does not allow me to gointo too much detail about those issues. Theyare issues such as Labor's commitment to theexpansion of the Cool Schools program. Thatis already under way. That promise by theincoming Labor Government is now beingdelivered on. Another issue is the upgrading ofimportant roads in the electorate, such as theDingo-Mount Flora Road, the Ridgelands Roadand the widening of the Capricorn Highway tofour lanes between Gracemere and thealready constructed four lanes. We need alsoto consider the lighting of that section of road,as it becomes quite dangerous during heavyrain and when fog moves across it.

Local authorities need greater financialassistance to maintain and upgrade importantroads in their areas. Mount Morgan has agreat history. We should be doing everythingwe can to preserve the history of thatcommunity for younger generations. I wouldlike to win Government support for thepreservation of a yet-to-be-identified precinct inthe town that would see shops, hotels,schools, halls and the post office undergostructural repairs and receive a new coat ofpaint to ensure that they are there, strong andvisible, for the community for many moreyears. We have a great opportunity topreserve those valuable assets in thecommunity and we should be doing whateverwe can to work with the local authority, thosepeople who own those businesses and withthose who are involved in the upkeep of thosehistoric buildings in that community. We shouldbe doing whatever we can to work with thosedifferent organisations and groups of people toensure that that heritage value is protected.

It has been a wonderful opportunity forme to make this contribution in relation to theFitzroy electorate. I look forward to being ableto put in place a lot those things that I havespoken about and ensure that the people ofthe Fitzroy electorate get the things that theyfeel they deserve to get.

Hon. K. R. LINGARD (Beaudesert—NPA)(12.35 p.m.): I express my loyalty to HerMajesty Queen and to her representative, HisExcellency the Governor. I convey also theloyalty of the electorate of Beaudesert. I amamazed and embarrassed that we are stilldebating the Address in Reply. Eight monthsafter the election, we are still providing ananswer to the Governor. It seems absolutelyridiculous that eight months have gone by and

we still have not responded to the Governor'sOpening Speech. I thank the electorate ofBeaudesert for supporting me in what was achallenging period. There was a massiveimpact from One Nation in the neighbouringelectorate of Lockyer, where in the booths nextto my own electorate, over 50% of the peoplevoted for One Nation. Also, to the north in theseat of Waterford, there was a massive swingto One Nation, as happened in the Loganelectorate. I would like to think that the reasonthat Beaudesert did not change was thenumber of massive projects that have occurredthere during the past three years.

The first of the massive projects was, ofcourse, the construction of the BeaudesertHospital, where $11.5m has been spent onconstruction. Tenders for the construction ofthe hospital were awarded in 1998. On 13March next, in a few days, the first patients willbe taken across to the hospital. On 11 April, Iunderstand there will be an official opening.This has been a political football for manyyears. Prior to 1989, Premier Cooper promiseda new hospital. Premier Ahern promised a newhospital. Shadow Minister for Health McElligottalso promised a new hospital in 1989.However, between 1989 and 1995 there wasabsolutely no movement by the then LaborGovernment. Fortunately, in 1996, with thechange of Government, a decision was madeto spend $11.5m on a greenfield site for thenew Beaudesert Hospital.

I am concerned that Rotary has askedwhether it can hold a fete a few days before13 March, when the new patients go acrossfrom the old hospital into the new hospital.That request has been declined until theMinister opens the hospital. It seems to me tobe absolutely petty that people will be movedacross to the new hospital on 13 March andthat the public will be moving through thehospital, yet Rotary, which wanted to have afunction to raise funds to provide facilities andequipment for the hospital, was refusedpermission for the fete on the basis that thepublic could not come to see the hospital untilthe Minister opened it in April. That seems tome to be absolutely ridiculous. It would havebeen an excellent time for Rotary to hold afete and to have people moving through thehospital when there were no patients there.Rotary intended to have the fete on 11 and 12March. That would have been an excellentfundraising activity. However, permission hasbeen declined until the Minister opens thehospital on 11 April.

This hospital will be a new 40-bedhospital. Originally it was promised that it wouldbe a 40-bed hospital. Unfortunately, the


bureaucrats got involved. After considering thebed patterns of Beaudesert, they thought that22 or 23 beds would be enough. I thank theprevious Minister for the fact that it has stayedat a 40-bed hospital. There will be completeservices for outpatients and accident andemergency. Allied and dental health serviceswill be available there. The medical ward will bethere and the maternity ward will go across tothe hospital, which will also have an operatingtheatre, a pharmacy, reception, medicalrecords and staff accommodation.

The old hospital, which was previously tobe upgraded, will be completely demolished tomake way for a car park, with the new hospitalon a greenfield site. One of the otherdifficulties has been obtaining permission forthe complete demolition of part of the oldhospital, which goes back to the 1910s. It hassections historically related to the Stinsoncrash—one ward is called the Stinson Ward.Fortunately, Government authorities haveagreed that part of it can be removed.Hopefully that will come to Jimboomba as arespite centre. I would like to talk about thatlater.

I thank the previous Government and alsothe present Government for the granting of theBeaudesert Hospital. Until now, Beaudeserthas always been on the end of the line. Thesouth coast area saw massive populationincreases in and around Logan and Loganlea.Therefore, hospitals in that area tookprecedence. Similarly, when the increases inpopulation occurred on the south coast, thehospitals in the Nerang area took precedence,and Beaudesert was always at the end of theline.

The second thing which was significant inthe electorate of Beaudesert was the decisionto build the Tamborine Mountain State HighSchool—to spend $7.3m, partly to take thepressure away from the Beaudesert State HighSchool and partly to take the pressure awayfrom the Helensvale State High School, wherenumbers had become quite massive. In May1989, the construction commenced. For thosemembers who have never had the fortunateexperience of seeing a brand new high school,I can say to all of them that it is an absolutedelight. The way high schools are nowconstructed is a credit to the Government,whichever Government it is. Previously, acouple of classrooms were built and whenlibrary facilities for Year 9 and Year 10 werenecessary, the library facilities were built, andcommercial facilities were built later. However,now a complete new high school has all of theperforming arts theatres; it has all of the ovals,magnificently prepared; it has commerce

facilities, manual arts facilities, homeeconomics facilities and massive play areas forstudents. The Tamborine Mountain State HighSchool is no exception. It will be an absolutedelight for the community of MountTamborine. Not only the present high schoolstudents but also those people who requireTAFE education and other adult education canuse the facilities. When one sees a schoolsuch as the Tamborine Mountain State HighSchool on its first day with absolutely brilliantlandscaping, with facilities for performing arts—complete new drama theatres and a theatrewith a seating capacity for over 250 people—technology facilities, music facilities, homeeconomics facilities, manual arts facilities,science facilities, social science facilities, artfacilities, sport facilities with a 400-metre trackalready built, a track to which MountTamborine residents had no access previously,a resource centre, staff facilities andadministration facilities, that is an absolutecredit to everybody concerned.

The covered links of the TamborineMountain State High School are constructed ofstained hardwood poles, pine beams andfacias and there is timber-decked bridge linkingsome of the buildings. Those fittings blend inwith the beautiful surroundings of TamborineMountain. The buildings and the roofs are asoft green to blend in with the greencountryside and they are rimmed in dark greenforest. The red of the red earth is reflected inthe concrete columns and walls rather than theold steel——

Mr Gibbs: You're just an oldconservationist at heart, aren't you?

Mr LINGARD: The TV must not be on inhere because, obviously, the Minister indicatedsomething. Yes, I suppose I am, especially inrelation to Tamborine Mountain. The uprightsfor the covered ways are toned in the naturalcolours of the timber and the irregularity of thetimber poles are intended to relate to andenhance the natural elements of the site. I canonly say to the Government a very sincerethank you from the people of Tamborine forthis particular facility.

My electorate is also lucky in havinganother school, the Beechmont State School.Those people who have seen the massivedevelopment around Hinze Dam,Advancetown coming up through LowerBeechmont up to Beechmont itself wouldknow how that area is increasing in population.Previously, the Beechmont State School waslocated on a site that had very, very severelimitations. Obviously, the land in and aroundBeechmont and Binna Burra is very, very hard


and very costly to acquire. For a long time,previous Governments have wrestled with thisproblem, but finally they decided to purchase anew site near Graceleigh Park, which is usedby the community and which will provide theovals for the State school. This is a newinitiative of the Education Department wherebyit is prepared to access facilities that are nearschools and, therefore, allow the community toaccess the school site itself. Although thisschool has a limited football field, it can nowuse the community field and, therefore, thereis no need for such facilities to be built both atthe school and also for the community. Thisschool also has brilliant landscaping,magnificent early education centres andspecial school sites. Once again, theEducation Department agreed that, because ahouse had been built on the site previously,this house would be retained and would beused as part of the school site. This house,with certain modifications, will be used for earlyeducation. Once again, the people ofBeechmont are extremely lucky.

Unfortunately, one of the areas where wehave not had success has been theJimboomba State high school. Prior to 1989,the previous Government agreed that a schoolwas necessary to take the pressure fromBeaudesert High School, which now has 1,600students and is probably the fifth largestschool in Queensland. The previousGovernment agreed that a new school wouldbe built at Jimboomba. However, in 1993,Minister Hamill, who I know is in the Chambertoday, made an unbelievable decision that thefuture growth of Jimboomba could not beguaranteed. That is what his statement said:the future growth of Jimboomba could not beguaranteed. In 1993 there might not havebeen the shopping centre that is there now.However, 31,000 people live in Jimboombaand only 6,700 people live in Beaudesert. TheGovernment at that time decided to move thehigh school site to another site, which we havealways said would never, ever increase inpopulation as quickly as Jimboomba. Becausethe new site at Flagstone has not increased inpopulation as dramatically as was thought byMinister Hamill and the previous Governmentin 1993, there has been no need to build anew high school. However, Jimboomba hasreally gone ahead and if the decision——

Mr HAMILL: I rise to a point of order. Iinform the honourable member that I was notMinister for Education in 1993.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Reeves):Order! There is no point of order.

Mr LINGARD: Once again, the Ministerplays with numbers. If it was not 1993, it wasvery, very close to 1993. He was the Ministerfor Education at the time so he should not tryto play with numbers. If it was not 1993, it was1992.

Mr HAMILL: I was not Minister forEducation in 1992. Does the member want tohave another guess?

Mr LINGARD: I ask the Minister: whenwas he the Minister for Education?

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I remindthe member to speak through the Chair.

Mr Hamill: Question time is tomorrow.Mr LINGARD: The Minister certainly was

the Minister for Education at that particulartime. If I do not have the number exactly right,it was very, very close. You always play withthe exact word.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I remindthe member to speak through the Chair.

Mr LINGARD: The Minister at that time,Minister Hamill, certainly said that the futuregrowth of Jimboomba could not beguaranteed. Anyone who goes throughJimboomba knows now that it is a massivecentre and certainly the growth can beguaranteed. Certainly, if Minister Hamill haddecided to leave the site for the school atJimboomba, the Beaudesert area would havehad a new high school by now.

Fortunately, I give the present Minister,Minister Wells, his due. He has agreed that ahigh school will be necessary. So in the year2001, a high school should be built in thenorthern part of the shire. Whether the highschool is built in Jimboomba or at Flagstonedoes not particularly worry me. However, theprevious Government certainly bought a site atJimboomba. The other thing is that the trafficon the Mount Lindesay Highway is increasingdramatically. As the Mount Lindesay Highwaycomes down through Jimboomba, that will bethe growth corridor. The previous ALPGovernment decided to build the Camirabypass down through Undullah and Flagstone.That has certainly changed opinions. I askMinister Wells to not let the EducationDepartment influence him as it influenced theprevious Ministers in the 1991-94 period.Minister Hamill was influenced and changedthat opinion. As a result, Beaudesert has beenaffected because it cannot cater for its 1,600-plus students.

The other extreme growth that hasoccurred in my electorate involves theroadworks at Browns Plains. Prior to 1989 theprevious Government had developed the


Mount Lindesay Highway into a four-lane roadas far as Johnson Road at Browns Plains. Thiscoincided with the northern boundary of theelectorate of previous Premier Goss. PreviousPremier Goss always had the attitude that hedid not want to be seen to be putting massiveamounts of money into his own electorate.This had something to do with the publicrelations image he wanted to portray.Unfortunately, because a massive amount ofmoney was not spent in Mr Goss' electorate itmeant that areas to the south, such asBeaudesert, were unable to access the four-lane highway development.

Fortunately, in 1995-96 the Governmentdecided to go ahead with the massivedevelopment of the Browns Plainsinterchange. We now see some $30m beingspent on an overpass at Browns Plains. Thisdevelopment will come through Greenbankand will allow the four-lane highway to continueto Jimboomba and Beaudesert. Until the workon the four-lane highway and the intersectionwas undertaken the following work could notbe commenced. As a result, the MountLindesay Highway became an absolutenightmare for people travelling north fromBeaudesert.

People who now travel betweenBeenleigh and Tamborine Village will noticethe work being undertaken on the bridges. Wehave new bridges being constructed atCanungra. A new bridge is being constructedat Allan's Creek, which is in the electorate ofthe member for Lockyer. The Allan's Creekbridge is an extremely dangerous bridge forpeople travelling from Beaudesert to Boonah,but it is being replaced. I thank all the peoplewho have been involved with this work.

The Rathdowney-Boonah Road hasalways been a dirt road. A massive amount ofmoney will be required to build a causeway onthis road. Fortunately, the Department of MainRoads will go ahead and bituminise thatparticular area.

I wish to speak about the Jimboomba dayrespite centre. The previous Government hadallocated $400,000 to build a respite centre atJimboomba. People with disabilities who hadleft the Challinor Centre and who were goinginto the community needed a respite centre. Itwas decided to build such a centre atJimboomba. Many people were moving intothe Jimboomba area because they were ableto rent cheap housing. Sometimes thesepeople or their families suffer from disabilities.The people of Jimboomba find that they needthe facilities of a respite centre.

When the Government changed, thepresent Government decided to withdraw that$400,000, even though $50,000 had alreadybeen spent on the project. I believe theMinister for Families was being petty indeciding to withdraw that $400,000 on whatshe said was a legal technicality. The moneywas given to build a structure. There was nointention of providing recurrent funding. Thestructure was being built so that people couldaccess a respite centre facility.

I know that the present Government is notkeen—and never has been keen—on respitecentres, whether it be respite for people withdisabilities or respite for carers. Regardless ofthe philosophy of deinstitutionalisation—apolicy which this Government pushes andwhich I supported, in one way, with the closureof the Challinor Centre—there is a need forrespite for people with disabilities and forcarers. It is ridiculous to think that disabledpeople can stay in the community withoutreceiving some sort of respite and care. Carersalso need a break, whether it be a daily break,an overnight break, or, in some cases, aweekly break.

Fortunately, the people of Jimboombahave banded together to try to bring thematernity section of the old BeaudesertHospital to Jimboomba so that it can be usedas a respite centre. Fortunately, the presentGovernment, through the Department ofHealth and the Department of Family Services,is cooperating. However, Jimboomba willmerely receive part of the old BeaudesertHospital rather than the respite centre whichthe previous Government undertook toconstruct.

Sitting suspended from 12.56 p.m. to2.30 p.m.

Mr PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (2.30 p.m.): It isgreat to be back. It is great to be given theopportunity once more to represent the peopleof Mulgrave in the Queensland LegislativeAssembly. It is great to return to this House asa Labor member after an absence of threeyears on the political sidelines and to be in aposition to put the case for regionalQueensland and far-north Queensland inparticular.

Fighting for a fair go is something in whichI have always believed. "Putting the Far NorthFirst" is not only my campaign theme; it is thevery reason that I entered politics in the firstplace. The term of the previous coalitionGovernment was a low point for the far north,with the area being ignored because theyneglected Queensland north of Noosa. Whocould forget the speed with which the former


Treasurer moved to lift the toll on the SunshineMotorway, leaving others across the State topick up the bill?

The coalition in Government did not takelong to revert to the Bjelke-Petersen days ofcover up and cosy up. They were quick to cosyup to powerful vested interest groups. Theycovered up secret deals. The secretmemorandum of understanding with the PoliceUnion is a symbol of their continuing contemptfor the public good. They resorted to coveringup for incompetent Ministers. The Queenslandcoalition demonstrated that it was prepared towaste taxpayers' money on bogus inquiriessimply for the purpose of self-preservation. TheConnolly/Ryan witch-hunt was not an inquiry atall; it was a blatant misuse of public funds anda symbol of the preparedness of the Nationaland Liberal Parties to risk fundamental judicialsafeguards in this State in order to save theirpolitical hides. They never learned the lessonsof the excesses of the 1980s and the findingsof the Fitzgerald inquiry. They demonstratedyet again that the concept of separation ofpowers was beyond them.

Worse still, these champions of States'rights and Canberra bashers from way backwere dismal as they caved in to their Canberramates at every turn. The National Party's sell-out to the Liberals in Canberra on everyimportant issue makes a mockery of their claimto truly represent the people of rural andregional Queensland. They must share theresponsibility for increasing nursing home fees,savage cuts to child care, the closing down ofregional Federal services, accepting second-best health funding, the neglect of theunemployed, divisive industrial disputes, theimposition of a goods and services tax,uranium mining in national parks and, morerecently, the disgraceful cuts to universityfunding. Only the Labor Party has consistentlystood up to be counted for Queenslanders onthese critical issues.

By deserting provincial Queenslanders,the Nationals must also bear responsibility forthat cancer on the body politic of this nation—the rise of the One Nation Party. I accept theview that all major parties have contributed insome way by losing touch with the electorateand not adequately addressing real andperceived concerns expressed by ordinarycitizens. However, it is in the National Partyheartland that One Nation developed mostquickly and from where the more extremenotions that pass for genuine policyemanated.

The National Party cynically turned a blindeye to the rantings and ravings of the lunatic

fringe in the vain hope that the tide of angerwould work in their favour. Several NationalParty members openly courted the One Nationvote, only to be bitten badly at the ballot box.Many National Party figures chose to becomeOne Nation chameleons in a bid for thedissident vote. The National Party has setabout stealing what passes for One Nationpolicy as it drifts further to the extreme Right.

The principled stance of the Labor Partyon the extremist views of the One Nationhierarchy enables all members of the LaborParty to hold their heads high. This isespecially so given the recent details of theundemocratic manner in which One Nationconducts its internal business. The nationalsocialist—read "Nazi"—nature of One Nation iscause for concern to us all. We are indeedlucky that the electorate has seen thismovement for what it is and rejected it at theballot box at the October Federal election.

At the 5 December by-election, thepeople of Mulgrave rejected ineffectiverepresentation. They rejected the culture ofcomplaint fostered by a party long on fingerpointing but short on real answers. Theyrejected the lowest common denominatorcampaigning of personal denigration bymaster puppeteer David Oldfield in favour ofthe positive approach of the Beattie LaborGovernment.

Alarm bells must be ringing for theelectors of New South Wales. They would bewise to reject a party machine devoid ofpolitical scruples. Hopefully, given theimplosion of One Nation in Queensland inrecent weeks, they can deliver a further rebuffby ensuring that David Oldfield is not given aplatform for his divisive brand of politicsthrough a seat in the New South Wales UpperHouse.

My re-election to this place was achievedthrough the combined efforts of a vital andcommitted Labor Party and through the broad-based support of ordinary working men andwomen. I thank everyone who voted Labor.Although it is always difficult to single outindividuals or even groups for recognition, Iwould be remiss if I did not record myappreciation to the following people.

The people of Yarrabah once again gavemy campaign magnificent support. Myconnection with this community goes backover 30 years, when I was first posted there asa young teacher. I recommit myself tofurthering the process of reconciliation and toachieving a better standard of living for allindigenous Australians. In a pathetic exampleof dummy spitting, the National Party tried to


use the media to attack the value of the votefrom Yarrabah through some intemperate anduntrue statements by the now deposedshadow Minister for Police and CorrectiveServices. Similarly, former One Nation voterswho spurned the coalition and turned to Laborwith their second preferences were branded astraitors by the National Party's candidate. TheLeader of the Opposition was quick to shootfrom the lip, launching a similar attack onformer coalition voters who had turned to OneNation.

It is a role of political parties to presentworthwhile and attractive policies to theelectorate for its consideration, not to beratevoters for exercising their democratic right. Ithank these people for their support and canassure them that the issues they raised withme when doorknocking will be addressed tothe best of my ability. I thank also thoseworkers and primary producers in the sugarindustry who offered their support to mycampaign. This was done in recognition of thecommitment made by Labor to meeting thecrisis caused by the continued decline in c.c.s.levels, falling world prices and tariff removal byan uncaring and out of touch Government inCanberra.

Unfortunately, this State's brief politicalflirtation with One Nation has sent a wrongmessage to our neighbours and, indeed, therest of the world. Australia is not a racist orbigoted society. We are fundamentally adiverse and tolerant people who accept eachother for what we are. We do not discriminateon the basis of the colour of our skin, ourreligious beliefs, our sexual preferences or anyother measure based on qualities other thanour intrinsic fundamental human worth. TheAustralia of which I am proud is also proud ofits independence. We should acknowledgeand take pride in our ancient and indigenoushistory, as well as contributions made over thepast 200 years by newer arrivals. I look forwardto the new millennium and the rebirth of ournation as a truly independent republic takingits place as a full equal on the internationalstage.

During the campaign the Green Partymade much of the impact that it would haveon the outcome of the Mulgrave by-election.Its vote was low. Most environmentalists choseinstead to cast their vote directly for Labor,based on its sound environmental record.Genuine environmentalists remembered theshameful role played by the Greens during the1995 election campaign, when they helped tobring the Nationals to power by putting politicalexpediency ahead of their principles. I believestrongly in protecting our wonderful natural

environment. I fully understand also the needfor environmentally sustainable development.The Greens do not have a monopoly onconcern for the environment, nor do they havethe right of veto over sustainable projects thathave the capacity to create employmentopportunities for Queenslanders.

During the election campaign a number ofcommitments were given to the electors ofMulgrave, and today I reaffirm mydetermination to see them all delivered in fulland on time. For most of my adult life I havehad the privilege of being involved in theeducation of our young people. I am veryproud that when representing Mulgrave on aprevious occasion I facilitated the setting asideof land at Edmonton to cater for theestablishment of an education precinct. In thisterm I intend to build upon that achievement.In 1998 the Bentley Park Primary School andPreschool opened their doors on a sizeableparcel of land acquired by the then GossGovernment. My commitment to education isas strong as ever.

The Minister for Education announcedduring the by-election that construction of theBentley Park State High School wouldcommence this financial year, with its firstintake of students to be taken at thecommencement of the 2000 school year. Theconstruction of this much needed facility is ontrack, with earthworks starting this month. TheBentley Park campus offers the opportunity toestablish a superb facility to cater for theeducational needs of the whole communitywith the emphasis on lifelong learning. It is myintention to work closely with educators, thecommunity and the Cairns City Council tomaximise the opportunities shared usage offacilities can provide.

In 1994 I first raised the prospect ofclosing off Trinity Inlet to commercial gillnetting. It was therefore with a sense of greatsatisfaction that this project became Laborpolicy and was presented to the people atboth the June general election and then againat the by-election. Trinity Inlet is a precious andfinite resource and I commend the work doneunder the Trinity Inlet Management Plan topreserve and utilise this valuable marineecosystem. Continued commercial gill nettingwas having a deleterious effect on recreationaland tourist fishing opportunities.

The Minister for Primaries Industries hasacted promptly to institute a regulatory impactstatement and the necessary processes are intrain to achieve the commitments to theelectors of Mulgrave. In future years, withcareful management Trinity Inlet will become a


focal point for locals and will providerecreational opportunities for tourists. Ineconomic terms, the return to the far northerncommunity through this use will far outweighthat received by way of commercial fishing.

It has come to my attention that there is aneed to upgrade the boat ramp at ThompsonRoad, Edmonton. Under the previous coalitionGovernment substantial funds were set asidefor the establishment of a pontoon in thevicinity. This dubious offer was not sought bythe community, nor was it a practicalproposition in the first place as the water inthat area is far too shallow to support the useof a pontoon. It remains a mystery as to whysuch an announcement was ever made.Public calls by myself for a "please explain" fellon deaf ears.

I have had recent discussions with theEdmonton fishing club and they inform methat Queensland Transport has indicated thefunds are still available to be put to the morepractical purpose of constructing the boatramp. It is therefore my intention to ensurethat the construction of the new boat rampbecomes a reality. Such a facility will be ofgreat benefit, as the current ramp is in a poorstate of repair and cannot cope adequatelywith current, let alone projected, demand.

During my earlier terms as member forMulgrave, the provision of services andfacilities to keep pace with the rapidurbanisation of the southern suburbs of Cairnswas a top priority. This remains the case nowmore than ever. Land for road improvementsand the sites for schools, ambulance and firestations and community health centres wereallocated as part of a whole of communityapproach to provision of infrastructure. Theplanning was done and it must now beimplemented.

The former coalition Government let thepeople of Mulgrave down in its two and a bityears in office. It boasted it would establish a24-hour police station in the Edmonton area. Itnever did. It was all talk and no action, which istypical of its approach to law and order issues.The coalition never got around to fulfilling thispromise. It considered window shopping at realestate agencies for a site on canelandbetween Edmonton and Gordonvale as asubstitute for real action.

A facility remote from the population hubwould have been unsatisfactory. Had theprevious Government ever followed through onthis misguided plan, the community wouldhave been short-changed. Furthermore, itwould have resulted in the downgrading of

both the Edmonton and Gordonvale PoliceStations. This would have diminished thevisible police presence in those urban areaswhere it is really needed. The Minister forPolice has announced that the construction ofa new 24-hour police station will commence asa redevelopment of the current Edmonton sitein the new financial year. Community supportfor this initiative is high as we look forward tohaving this station up and running with acomplement of 18 to 20 officers early in 2000.

During the by-election the National Partycandidate falsely claimed the ambulancestation at Edmonton would be downgraded.This was in contradiction to a commitmentmade by myself that, in fact, an upgradingwould occur to accommodate growth demand.The Minister for Emergency Services backedmy commitment and events of recent weeksbear out the veracity of that commitment. Theupgrading of the ambulance station inEdmonton to a full 24-hour service will beachieved over the next few weeks. I thank theMinister for her prompt action and pass on toher the appreciation of my constituents,especially those seniors who under Labor havenow been provided with free universalambulance cover.

When previously in office, I negotiated afive-year program of upgrading works alongYarrabah Road to improve safety for theresidents of that community and thecommunity of East Trinity. Although some workwas carried out during my term in office, theprevious coalition Government obviously hadpriorities elsewhere and the program slippedseriously behind the timetable that had beenestablished. I am pleased to assure thoseaffected constituents that the elements of thatprogram are now back on track and it is mydetermination to see the completion of thebulk of the work within my current term ofoffice.

The community of Babinda has over thelast 20 years suffered a gradual decline andmistakes have been made in withdrawingessential services. There is, however, a new-found sense of purpose within the township.The establishment of the Babinda CommunityAssociation will supplement the good workbeing done by a number of organisations asthe community sets about reinvigorating itself.This process was given a real boost when theMinister for Housing gave the go-ahead for theAbbeyfield project, which will see many ofBabinda's older citizens attain independentliving within the community and not be facedwith the prospect of having to moveelsewhere.


Within the next few weeks a QueenslandGovernment Agent Program office will open inBabinda, giving residents access to anenhanced range of Government services, allavailable within the town itself. The Minister forHealth has announced funding for theupgrading of the Babinda Hospital to betteraccommodate the needs of those requiringaged care.

I wish to reaffirm my support for some ofthe excellent work being done in the Innisfaildistrict. That community is currently raisingfunds for the establishment of haemodialysisfacilities in the city. Innisfail district citizensshould not have to constantly travel to Cairnsfor this important service. It is my intention toaddress this issue in more detail in this placeat another time.

I now turn to issues which have broughtgreat pain to working men and women inQueensland, as they have throughout thenation. Ideologically driven attacks on thefoundations of a sound and workable industrialrelations system by conservative Governmentsat both State and Federal levels have reducedemployee confidence to unprecedented lows.The restructuring of the industrial relationsmodel has not produced the efficienciesprojected. Improved productivity levels are notto be sustained through cut-throat competitionbetween workers. Evidence suggests that asense of collective wellbeing provides betterincentives for the work force to strive for higheroutput. Secretive workplace agreements fosterunproductive workplace division wherein theindividual is too busy protecting his or her ownjob to make any contribution of worth to theenterprise. They do not foster the enterprisecommitment so valuable in a finely balancedfree market economy.

Enlightened employers to whom I speakare rejecting the individualisation of industrialbargaining. They accept that a return to thecollective process under the umbrella of anIndustrial Relations Commission skilled in fairlyresolving industrial disputation will provide awin-win situation for worker and boss alike. It isa fact that industrial disputes occur. Aneffective industrial relations system providesworkable mechanisms for resolving conflictsefficiently and, more importantly, fairly. Thecoalition's inflammatory approach to industrialrelations only foments discontent.

The casualisation of the Australian workforce to unprecedented levels has been asocial disaster. The resulting dislocation hasdestabilised the work force to the extent thatfamilies have great difficulty in planning and

working towards the realisation of such thingsas home ownership.

Government at all levels has been guiltyof using economic theory to shed its socialresponsibilities in the name of economicrationalism. The fundamentals of NationalCompetition Policy are quite sound, butunfortunately public management has seizedupon NCP as a means of downsizing,privatising and contracting out in order toimprove the bottom line without any thoughtas to the impact upon the lives of ordinarypeople. The bottom line should not just bemeasured in terms of dollars saved. Economicefficiency is a worthwhile aim, but not at theexpense of our social fabric. It is falseeconomy to save a dollar on wages, yet spendmore on social welfare as a growing number ofvaluable employees are consigned to thescrap heap of unemployment orunderemployment.

We owe it to the citizens of this State tospend their taxes wisely, but to balance fiscalpropriety with a genuine commitment to thewelfare of the community. This is done throughthe provision of services in our schools and ourhospitals; by our ambulance, police and fireand rescue services; and through the provisionof affordable electricity, water and publictransport. The business of Labor Governmentsis to deliver community services, not toreplicate the corporate sector, but to work withit to create jobs and a better standard of livingfor all.

Mr GOSS (Aspley—LP) (2.49 p.m.): Ipledge my loyalty to Her Majesty the Queen,and to her representative in Queensland, HisExcellency the Governor, Major General PeterArnison, and I assure the electors of Aspley ofmy continued efforts on their behalf. I amhonoured to have been elected once again torepresent the residents of the Aspleyelectorate. Since being elected to the BrisbaneCity Council in 1982, this most recent electionwas my seventh. Of the four State elections Ihave contested, this most recent electionbrought about my second best result.

I thank all those who came forward toassist me at the election. I express my sincerethanks to the ever-present branch memberswho have been there to help and assist in somany ways over many years. Some of themhave assisted me at all elections I havecontested. I also express my appreciation tothe many people who at each election contactme and offer their help and services. Many ofthese people are non-political but comeforward at each election to assist me.


As I have said previously, I am verypleased with my result in Aspley, although Icould not miss the sour grapes of the localALP campaign director, who made a greatissue in the local press that I was elected onOne Nation preferences. I admit that is true. Ioutpolled the Labor candidate in the primaryvote and received more One Nationpreferences.

What the Labor Party campaign director,in his moment of losing disappointment, failedto realise is that it is the constituents of thearea who vote and allocate their preferences,not the parties. The ALP booth workershanded out bogus how-to-vote cards to OneNation voters in an attempt to get theirpreferences. Labor went begging to OneNation voters for their preferences. UnlikeLabor booth workers, who handed out twohow-to-vote cards, I can honestly say that mybooth workers handed out only the officialLiberal card. Labor's sneaky tactic was seen bythe electorate for what it was: a win-at-any-costcampaign.

Never have I had so many election signsdefaced, stolen and burnt. It was a very well-organised campaign. With the help of mycampaign workers, there were always sufficientsigns to replace the ones that had beendestroyed. On one occasion I went out toreplace a burnt sign and a six-year-old boycame out of the house. He stood there,watching me put the sign up. When I hadfinished he said, "Is that you?" I said, "Yes."He said, "It doesn't look like you." The signwas 14 years old and I had to put "Aspley"over the former electorate name. Fourteenyears ago I looked thinner and had more hair;that was the only difference.

I take this opportunity to thank my wife,Tricia, who has always been there when help isneeded. Those who know her know that shehas boundless energy. I also place on recordmy thanks to the people who do so muchvoluntary work in the electorate—theneighbourhood watches, the club committees,Meals on Wheels, the Bald Hills Bushies, theservice clubs and the P & Cs and P & Fs. Theyhave made such a significant contribution overmany years. I am pleased to say that themajority, if not all, of the sporting clubs in myelectorate are junior sporting clubs. Thatmakes me very proud.

One of my proudest achievements overthe years has been the preservation ofbushland. That includes the Raven Streetreserve, the West Chermside hills and 60hectares of bushland at Albany Creek nearBridgeman Downs. In fact, last year I received

an award from the Lord Mayor of Brisbane,whom many members would know quite well,to celebrate the 10th anniversary of theopening of the Downfall Creek BushlandCentre.

One of my greatest honours was whenthe residents of the electorate petitioned tohave an area named the John Goss Reserve.At the unveiling I was rather worried that theword "memorial" may have been on the sign,but I had two options: either physical orpolitical death. The John Goss Reserverepresents a great honour bestowed byresidents in the electorate.

Over recent years I have been pleased tosee the refurbishment of the older schools inmy electorate, particularly the Aspley East andBald Hills State Schools. Other schools havealso benefited from the upgrading of facilities.Aspley State High School has many newfacilities, thanks to a very active P & Ccommunity.

The Aspley Special School has anoutstanding record for dedication in theupgrading of their facilities and for fundraising.In fact, their fundraising activities have to beseen to be believed. This school paid for itsown therapy pool without even a subsidy fromthe Government. The P & C members at theAspley Special School are real workers. Theyare determined and they are very resourceful. Ipay tribute to the former principal of theschool, Glynn Brown, and to Harry Johnstone,who is responsible for the recycling andenvironmental centre at the Aspley SpecialSchool. The Pine Rivers State High School isalso a great school. The P & C there is veryactive and is very involved in the school, as isthe P & C at the adjoining Strathpine school.

Another pleasing achievement in theAspley electorate has been the refurbishmentof many of the State houses, which have hadvery little spent on them over the last 40 or 45years. The project has transformed an area ofZillmere, much to the delight of local residents.Also, another pensioners complex has beenconstructed in the area. That has been veryhelpful. Many of the people in the area areaged and many of them occupy two, threeand four bedroom homes. We found that theywere occupying these homes because theydid not want to move away from their friends.When they found that they could move into anew complex at ground level, many of themwere happy to move in. This made therefurbished houses available to people on thewaiting list. These people have been able tostay close not only to their neighbours but also


their friends. They have been able to maintainassociation with their local clubs.

I am relieved that the activity centre at theAspley State School is now completed. For 14or more years the P & C raised funds andsought financial assistance. The former hallhad been condemned by Workplace Healthand Safety. Not only is the new hall an assetto the school; it also provides a venue forchurch, sporting and community groups. Icongratulate the many P & C committees andthe parents who worked so hard and so longover all those years to raise the enormousamount of money needed to construct theactivity centre.

Brisbane's town plan is of serious concernto me. As development increases in our city,the destruction of trees and open areasaround the city with high-density developmentand unit development becomes obvious. Thatdevelopment covers the land, which acts as asponge in times of heavy rain. And becausethe earth is being covered by roadways andhouses, there is less area to absorb the rain.Therefore, that rain is channelled into thecreeks. But no-one is prepared to undertakemajor creek reconstruction work because thatwould ruin the environment.

I believe that Brisbane's town plan isleading Brisbane into a disaster. Alreadypeople in Brisbane tell me that they cannot getflood insurance. And those who are gettingflood insurance in some new areas have to dodeals with their insurance companies to givethem all their insurance. But there are somepeople who will never get flood insurance, orfor whom the cost of flood insurance is so highthat they cannot afford it.

The run-off peak is going to get higher asdevelopment increases. Perhaps it is theresponsibility of the State Government to lookat the intensity of development in relation toflooding in our city. Although the StateGovernment provides assistance for roads thatflood, together with emergency assistance, it isgetting to the stage where I believe that theGovernment should be responsible for peoplewhose properties flood when it has allowedthem to build on flood-prone land.

Unfortunately, the Aspley electoratesuffers from people who are travelling to thenorth coast, particularly at weekends, and whouse local roads as a short cut to the BruceHighway from the western suburbs. One of thethings that we have to consider seriously is analternative route to the west of Brisbane. Thetraffic congestion on two-lane roadsthroughout the Aspley electorate on Sundays,weekends and on Friday afternoons is creating

enormous congestion. In fact, people alongthose routes are even having problems gettingin and out of their properties.

I am very proud of the years that I servedon the Travelsafe committee. One of theinteresting things that was trialled in my area atSt Dympna's School on Robinson Road wasflashing lights to reduce the speed limit duringthe morning and afternoon school arrival anddeparture times. From talking to the P & F atthat school, I learnt that, before the flashinglights were put in, the police estimated thatperhaps one in 100 motorists would slow downto the required speed. Most motorists did notslow down at all. But since the flashing lightshave been installed, the vast majority ofmotorists now observe the speed limit past theschool. I must admit that the school is in adangerous location. It is located on the crest ofa hill, the pedestrian crossing is right on thatcrest, and one does not see the white linesuntil one is almost upon them. I say thank youto the people in road safety and mycolleagues on the Travelsafe committee whowere keen to try new ideas, such as theflashing lights.

Another issue that is of great concern tome is the defacing and removal of traffic signs.This can be extremely dangerous. I personallyknew someone who died at an intersectionafter a stop sign was removed. Apparently it isnot unusual for the council to find keep-leftsigns changed with an arrow and felt pens to"keep right". One thing that I encourage theTravelsafe committee to consider seriously arethe penalties for defacing and removing streetsigns. The staff of the ambulance and fireservices have their maps and they know wherethey are going, but doctors who are called outoften do not.

Quite frequently around the city I seeevidence of street signs that have beenremoved by youths. That can delayemergency services to people. We shouldconsider making the penalty for defacing,altering or removing traffic signs—whether theyare temporary or permanent—a much moreserious offence. I have noticed in recentmonths an alarming increase in the number oftraffic signs that have graffiti painted overthem. It is an enormous cost to the BrisbaneCity Council and the Main Roads Departmentto have to keep replacing those signs.

I also pay tribute to the Metropolitan NorthBoondall division of the Police Service for theiractivities in the area and their participation inthe Neighbourhood Watch Program. I paythem a compliment, because sometimes, ifyou phone them up, some police will go out


with you in their own time after hours to inspectproblems in your area. We had a problem inmy electorate with groups of young peoplegathering in cars at the shopping centre.When several hundred cars gather around atthe local shopping centre and a fewirresponsible people are doing wheeliesthrough the shopping centre, that is a concernto everybody. For example, parents wereafraid to take their children to McDonald's on aFriday as a treat after their swimming lessons. Imust admit that the police did a magnificentjob. Ninety-five per cent of those people werethere just to get together with their colleagues,and there is nothing wrong with that. But thereare always those few people who actirresponsibly and put other people's lives indanger. The police took many weeks to sortout that problem. They worked tirelessly andset up a task force.

Now, I respect the right of people to gettogether. But I believe that it is time thatGovernment treated amateur motor sport onthe same basis as it treats other sport. Weacknowledge Mick Doohan, Jack Brabham,Alan Jones and all those other people whowere world champions. But when it comes tothe amateur side of the sport, we do not wantto know about it, and we do not assist thosesports clubs in providing facilities where theycan drag-race their own cars without going togreat expense. Some sporting clubs havequite a bit of money to put together, but theyjust need a site for their facilities. That issomething that we should be consideringseriously.

I also thank the Main Roads staff for theirconsultation in relation to sound barriers in myelectorate. They have been of enormous helpto local residents. Most of their landscapingwork has been a great success in thebeautification of Gympie Road. One of the sadthings is that, although they have recentlyfinished landscaping out there—and it is righton the border of the electorate of the memberfor Chermside—they tell me that they are nowlikely to rip up some of that landscaping andchange the road design. As the member forChermside would know, there is nothing worsethan people seeing something being doneand then, a matter of months later, they seesomeone coming along and ripping it all upagain. Fortunately for the member forChermside, the landscaping in question is onmy side of the boundary road between ourelectorates. However, I pay tribute to thoseworkers in Main Roads who maintain the roadsin that area.

Hon. R. E. SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works and Minister for

Housing) (3.09 p.m.): The debate on themotion for the adoption of the Address inReply is a wonderful opportunity for membersto speak about their electorates and to placeon record their thanks to those electors whogave them the privilege of being in this augustplace. The reality is that 59% of the people ofRockhampton supported my candidacy in thelast election. The National Party had the mostdisgraceful result that it has ever had. OneNation received 26% of the vote, most ofwhich was absorbed from the National Party.That just goes to show that a lot of the peoplewho normally support the conservative side ofpolitics were absolutely revolted at the thoughtof their party placing One Nation ahead of theLabor Party. On the day at the polling booths Isaw people—especially some whom I know tobe Liberal voters—take Labor Party how-to-vote cards. I have never seen that before. Itmay never happen again, unless we see arepeat performance of the very pathetic tacticthat was used at that time to try to bolster thefailing Borbidge/Sheldon coalition.

The people who supported One Nation atthe last election—and many of them I knowpersonally—who looked to One Nation forsome level of honesty and integrity in theprocess that was being promised are very, verydisappointed in what they see. They haveseen—exactly as we predicted—a ramshacklegroup of people who do not take accountabilityseriously.

Mr Lucas: Hobbledehoy!

Mr SCHWARTEN: Hobbledehoy! They donot tend to understand that this place is aplace of accountability. What have been thetwo big issues that have absorbed theattention of One Nation in recent times? Onewas the former member for Mulgrave who,even though he had left the place, tried to rortthe system even when he was out of it bytrying to collect his salary in advance. Theother issue, of course, has been the actions ofthe member for Ipswich West who, by hiscontinued attacks upon it, has persisted indragging the Police Service in this State into atotal state of disgrace. Now, of course, hewants to get rid of the CJC. The people inRockhampton who supported One Nation aresaying to me that they were voting for OneNation to make a difference—to sharpen uppoliticians, to get the accountability lines inthere and to ensure that the rorts come to anend.

We now find one of the former membersof One Nation who was elected on thatplatform has his snout in the trough furtherthan any politician has ever even tried to in the


history of this State. He is wanting to be paidfor something that he did not do and for a jobhe did very poorly. At the same time, he alsowanted to bring disrepute upon his own partyand highlight its inadequacies. Of course, theformer police officer, Mr Paff, chose to bringthis place into disrepute by wanting to get ridof the CJC, the very group of people set up tostop the rorts, and to keep the eyes of thepublic firmly on politicians. So, the people inOne Nation have done very, very well! Ofcourse, now they have split——

Mr Black: What about the $600,000ministerial office?

Mr SCHWARTEN: I will get to that.

The split in the party shows One Nationmembers as being the disgraceful people thatthey really are. They have let down badly the26% of people in Rockhampton whosupported them. They will not be gettinganything like that the next time they run.

Mr Black: We will see. We will see.

Mr SCHWARTEN: We will see. I am willingto bet that at any time. I am quite prepared tohave the bet. I will put my money up—noproblem at all.

I will address something that appears tohave caught the enthusiasm of One Nation,that is, the refit of 1,000 square metres of floorspace. This issue clearly shows to me their lackof understanding of anything in this State. Idefy any one of them to obtain a quote tohave a high-rise building office for 40 peoplefitted out at anything less than $500 persquare metre. The going rate is between $500and $600. I guess One Nation members wouldhave to take their shoes and socks off to workout 1,000 times that figure. The reality is that1,000 square metres of fit-out on a high-risebuilding costs between $500 and $600 persquare metre. The floor in question cost$595,000. If the member can get it donecheaper than that, he can go right ahead anddo it.

Mr Black interjected.

Mr SCHWARTEN: It is very pathetic,really.

I turn now to a number of very positiveissues that this Government has broughtforward in my electorate. We have hadenough of the negatives that we always hearfrom One Nation, the conspiracy theories andso on, which people really are tired of. Peoplewant to know where their kids are going to geta job, what sort of hope there is inRockhampton for continuing job growth andwhat sort of hope there is for getting someform of economic development that

guarantees the future of the place. As I havesaid on a number of occasions, Rockhamptonfaces a very bright future. As I travel aroundthe State, I observe that there are many areasthat are doing very well, but they have justabout reached the zenith in terms of theirdevelopment.

We have a couple of really good projectsthat will start in the very near future. One is atthe Prestons nickel mine. That will kick in sometime in April next year. That will employ about1,000 people in the construction phase andabout 300 thereafter. Similarly, ANC is buildinga pilot plant at Stanwell in the industrial parknext to the Stanwell Power Station. That hasthe potential to be a real winner, because wehad the magnesite plant there and this smelterwill value add onto that. Value adding issomething that we need very badly in thiscountry. As a result of that value adding,permanent jobs will be created. I notice thatthe Premier has just talked to people from Fiat.That company is very interested in coming tocentral Queensland to set up a componentsfactory, a casting works. Those are twoprojects that are on the go at the moment.Currently, $8m is being spent on the airportupgrade. We have planned a number of otherprojects.

There are a number of other issues that Ipromised at the last election that I woulddeliver on. I am proud to stand in this placeand say that I have delivered on each andevery one of those. The first of those was theSmart City concept, which is moving theUniversity of Central Queensland back into theCBD. I notice the Leader of the Liberal Partynodding in agreement. He, being anacademic—and I do not mean that with anydisrespect—would understand the significanceof that move, especially when we have a CBDthat is, like most CBDs, in trouble. We handedover to that Smart City concept a number ofbuildings—the former Supreme Court building,the District Court and the Magistrates Courtand another building on Quay Street that usedto be occupied by the TAFE college. In all, wehanded over about $11m worth of buildings,plus $2m in cash to refurbish them. I madethat promise before the election. That issomething that I was proud, as both the localmember and the Minister, to hand over. Thatis a very appropriate long term use of thosebuildings.

I have to say that we in CQU now haveour own sandstone, and they tell me that it isolder than the University of Queensland.Rockhampton Corporation, or RockhamptonEnterprise as it has now become known, wasanother idea that I had. One of the problems


that we in Rockhampton have—and I thinkthat this is fairly true of a lot of places aboutthe size of Rocky—is that we have a lot ofgroups trying to bring enterprises into the cityto generally get the place going and to createemployment prospects for our young people. Ithought that it was time to try to bring all ofthose groups together. That is why wepromised, and have now delivered thanks toJim Elder, $250,000 to kick-start RockhamptonEnterprise, whose job it will be to go out and,firstly, unite all the development agencies inRockhampton; secondly, to go out to thehighways and the byways, as it were, to bringbusiness into the city; and, thirdly, of course, toexport the businesses that we have—findmarkets for the excellent range of goods andservices that are produced in Rockhampton. Ithink that it is a very exciting project to getinvolved with in Rockhampton.

The river bank redevelopment is not goingas well as the Mayor of Rockhampton wouldlike it to be. However, we have offered half amillion dollars towards the labour costs ofredeveloping the river bank. I always say that itis the most underutilised spot in Rockhampton.It has huge potential. Rockhampton isprobably one of the few places in the worldthat one would ever go to where one cannotget down to the actual riverside. Over theyears, I think that really has been to ourdetriment. When that redevelopment finallygets under way—there have been a fewproblems associated with it—this Governmentwill be weighing in with half a million dollars aspart of its Jobsplan to hire long-termunemployed people to be part of that projectand to help attack our joblessness and ourlack of skill base for long-term unemployedpeople.

Over the past few years, a number ofschools in Rockhampton have becomedilapidated. For example, when I became theMinister, I was appalled to find out that theFrenchville State School needed $50,000spent on it to make its electrical fit-out safe. Itwas completely overloaded and the power wasgoing off on a regular basis. One of the firsttasks that I did was to find $50,000 to fix thatproblem before a child was electrocuted.Similarly, we have had a problem at The HallState School where a unit for disabled childrenwas, quite frankly, a disgrace. We have beenable to move in a relocatable classroom andhave spent about $100,000 in doing up thatarea. It is now quite a hospitable area and onethat the teachers, the students, and, ofcourse, their parents are very satisfied with.Similarly, there have been improvementsmade to the Park Avenue State School and at

Rockhampton State High School, which ofcourse is my old school.


Mr SCHWARTEN: Yes, it is a fine schooland it has a fine principal, Mr David Curran. Itis a particularly well-run school and, as I say, Iam proud to say that it was my alma mater,and what a great job it did.

An honourable member interjected. Mr SCHWARTEN: Absolutely. As

honourable members know, I commenced myworking life in the building industry. I believethat apprenticeships are the lifeblood of ourfuture. In recent times, I think that it has beenless trendy to get apprenticeships and wereally need to look at that in schools.

Dr Watson: That's why the tradesmen arebeing paid so much now.

Mr SCHWARTEN: The point that themember makes is a reasonable one because,over the years, as soon as there is a drop inthe economy, people stop training. Of course,in 1983 this happened federally. We started tocome out of a recession only to find that wehad a skill shortage in this country. As a result,we imported tradespeople. We are doing thatnow in Queensland: we are importing,especially metal tradespeople in theboilermaking area, to fill a void that has beencreated.

This Government has made acommitment to training people and toapprenticeships particularly. I am delighted tosay that this week in Rockhampton nine youngpeople will get a start in Q-Build. They will bepart of the 140 apprentices who will start thisyear. As I said, nine of those will be starting inRockhampton. I think that it is a very valuablething for a Government to continue to use itsday labour forces as a method of bolsteringthe industry by providing highly qualified, well-trained apprentices and, as a result of theirtraining, tradespeople in the market. Thosewho criticise Q-Build do not seem tounderstand that they go out into the market.At the moment, there are about 500apprentices in Q-Build. The day that Q-Build isnot in the market is the day that the buildingindustry will have to try to find its tradespeopleelsewhere and its trained people elsewhere.

The HITT scheme in housing, which wasan initiative of Tom Burns, a former HousingMinister, is a value-for-money operation if everthere was one. It uses public housingconstruction as a method of trainingapprentices whereby a number of houses areset aside for that purpose. Under the previousGovernment, they had to bid for those houses.


I do not think that that was an appropriate wayto go. If we expect group apprenticeshipschemes to train people, then we have to setthem aside a certain number of houses. Wehave done that. The biggest complaint that Ihad from my local Capricornia TrainingCompany was that it never had any certaintyof the number of houses that it was going toget. Therefore, it could not put on apprentices.As a result, I have been able to do a dealwhereby for the next four years they will knowexactly how many houses they are going toget so that they can train people accordinglyand put on a number of apprentices. TheCapricornia Training Company, as an example,will be putting on 50 apprentices as a result ofthis Government making available a certainand specified number of houses over thatperiod.

Ms Boyle: A very real and practicalcontribution, might I say, Minister.

Mr SCHWARTEN: I thank the membervery much. It is such a sensible decision thatone wonders why it has not been done before.Anyway, it is being done and it is going to bein operation. It has started and, as a result, theconstruction industry of Queensland will getsome very well-qualified tradespeople.

The biggest problem that Rockhamptonfaces—and it is no different from anywhereelse—is that it has a high youthunemployment level of around 26%. That isjust not to be tolerated. We have to dosomething about it. I believe that thestrategies that this Government has in placewill address that problem. We have inRockhampton the wherewithal at our fingertipsto turn around that problem. My view is that, inthat regard, at the end of the day I will bejudged on my performance. I am quite happyto put my credentials against those of anyother candidate or any other member in thearea in terms of getting projects for the city. AsI promised the people of Rockhampton at thelast election, I intend to work tirelessly and fullon for their benefit.

Dr WATSON (Moggill—LP) (Leader of theLiberal Party) (3.28 p.m.): It gives me greatpleasure to participate in this debate today.First of all, I pass on to the Governor both myrespects and those of my constituents. I mustadmit that, with respect to the Governor, it wasmy privilege to have been one of his ExecutiveCouncillors. I enjoyed that experienceimmensely and I wish the Governor and hiswife, Barbara, all the very best in theforthcoming years.

At this time it is traditional to offer a fewthankyous, but before I do so I must say that I

agree with the member for Rockhampton, theMinister for Public Works and Housing, aboutthe Smart City concept. Recently I was talkingto people at the university in Rockhamptonand I am convinced that it is a good program. Iwill return to the issue of informationtechnology later in my speech. I believe thatthe concept of the smart city is something thatwe have to do right across the State and thecountry.

Mr Schwarten: It's been a battle.Dr WATSON: Yes, I know it has been a

battle, but I think it is a battle worth fighting forthe future. It may not seem to be a lot now,but I think it will be in the future.

Whenever one is elected or re-elected toParliament one has to recognise that a lot ofother people put a lot of time and effort intothe campaign. I would like to thank mycampaign committee. I thank my ministerialstaff members. Most importantly, I thank myfamily for the support they have given me overall these years. I found it a little different thistime to be fighting an election campaign as aMinister. One finds how little time one candevote to one's own electorate. It is importantto understand that in an election a Ministerhas some difficulties with a whole range ofother issues, apart from fighting the electionwithin one's own electorate.

In this speech I wish to raise a number ofissues and refer to some things that werementioned in previous speeches in thisdebate. I believe that the member forBroadwater gave an excellent speech aboutthe realities of being a member of Parliament.I cannot recall precisely the whole speech, butlast year Allan Grice gave a very sober analysisof what it was to be a member of Parliament.The member for Sunnybank did the samething. I listened to some of the speech andread the rest of it in Hansard. I do not recallthat the contents of his speech made page 1of the Courier-Mail. I believe that was thecentral issue of what he was talking about.

I would like to thank the member forLogan for his best wishes on my becomingLeader of the Liberal Party. Most memberswould know that the member for Logan and Ibecame acquainted when we were in Federalpolitics. He was a member of the staff of DavidBeddall and I was the Federal member forForde. It is possible to develop respect andliking for people on the opposite side of thepolitical debate. John Howard said that asAustralians there is more that unites us thandivides us. We should understand thatrigorous and vigorous debate in this placeshould not spill over into intemperate


behaviour outside this place. We should allremember that.

The member for Kallangur touched onsome things that I want to talk about in theremainder of my speech. The membersaid—and I commend this to members of theHouse—

"We know that competition producesbetter products at lower prices. So peopleunderstand the positive aspects ofcompetition. In a simplistic sense, all of usknow about competition in terms offootball, netball or other sports."

I think what the member for Kallangur said isworth expanding upon.

Right now in this House there are peopleon both sides who think that "globalisation" isa dirty word. Globalisation is really just anotherway of saying that the world is open forcompetition. In sport, Australians have noproblems with the world being open forcompetition.

Mr Welford: That's a different thing.That's the trouble with you simplistic teachers,you turn sport into economy.

Dr WATSON: You are one of theacademic lawyers. In sport, Australians do notask for any favours or any special protection.Michael Doohan does not ask for 600 ccsinstead of 500. Greg Norman does not ask totee off halfway down the fairway; neither, ofcourse, does Karrie Webb, as she showed uslast weekend. Kieren Perkins does not ask hisopponents to wait on the blocks until he swimshalf a lap; nor does Susie O'Neill when she isbreaking a world record. Pat Rafter does notask Pete Sampras to serve softly to him justbecause he is an Australian. Our sportsmenand sportswomen are not intimidated bycompeting against the best in the world. Ibelieve that Queenslanders and Australiansare world beaters. There is no reason why thisworld beating attitude cannot be applied toendeavours beyond sport. We are elected tothis House to take this State into the nextcentury. If we allow ourselves to be intimidatedby international competition, we condemneach and every one of our constituents topoverty. If we continue to fear globalisation, Ibelieve we are in for very frightening times.

Mr Schwarten: What about somebodywho pays workers $2 an hour?

Dr WATSON: I am going to speak aboutsome of these issues further down the track.The reason why I congratulated the memberfor Rockhampton on the concept of the SmartCity is because I believe that we have toprepare Queenslanders for a rapidly changing

world. What is being done in Rockhamptonshould be something that all Governments inAustralia should follow. The honourablemember is justified in being proud of that.There is no point in simply using rhetoric.

Mr Schwarten: It's reality.

Dr WATSON: It's reality, but we have tocompete. We have to figure out ways ofcompeting smartly.

Mr Welford: I would like your income tobe determined upon your competition withKieren Perkins in the pool.

Dr WATSON: My income was determinedby competition in an international marketplaceas an academic, and I did very well.

Mr Welford: Oh, what!

Dr WATSON: That is exactly right. Mate,you don't know. My career started in theUnited States. I was evaluated every year. Myincome was determined upon myperformance. I survived internationally withoutany help from anyone else. That is the way Istarted.

Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Dr Clark):Order! The member for Moggill will direct hiscomments through the Chair.

Dr WATSON: We have a Minister overthere who lived in a protected workplace,namely the Office of the Director ofProsecutions in the CommonwealthGovernment. I want to talk about globalisationand consider its realities for Australia. Australiahas been part of globalisation ever since 26January 1778. The reality is that until recentlywe have not felt the full effects of globalisation.Over the past couple of decades our terms oftrade have been moving downwards and thishas been in combination with falling transportcosts and the costs of transmitting information.It simply means that we have lost our isolation.There is nothing we can do about that. This isgoing to continue. We have to figure out howwe are going to compete in a changing world.

In considering our terms of trade, thereality is that the amount we get for ourexports compared with what we have to payfor imports has been falling. Our trade termshave been falling since 1949-50. What we getfor what we sell reached a peak in 1949-50.That was because our main export at thatstage was wool, which was at a record price.We also had the Korean War. If we look at anygraph covering the period from 1949 until thepresent day, we will find that there has been acontinuing decline in our terms of trade. Therewere some pick-ups from time to time, such asin the 1950s with wheat, in the 1960s with ironore and in the 1970s with the energy crisis.


However, the trend has been steadilydownward. Why? The reason is because oureconomy has been basically a mixture ofagriculture and mining. What we have receivedfor our agricultural products has been falling.The rate of population increase has also fallen.As a result, we do not have the demand weonce had. Our technology has improved, withthe result that we produce more with the sameinputs and the same land. This has put adownward pressure on our prices.

The same type of thing has happened inthe mining industry, where technologicaladvancements now mean that much more isproduced from the same amount of input. Asthe member for Fitzroy would know,productivity in the mining industry hasincreased dramatically. The increasedproductivity of mines all around the world hasled to a downward movement in prices. Withrespect to Australia's terms of trade, we havebeen coming under greater competitivepressures not only for the past couple of yearsbut for the past 50 years; it is just that it hasnot caught up with us.

I turn to the cost of transportation. I thinkit was Dunne who said that no man can be anisland unto himself. Australia has been anisland unto itself, because it has beenprotected for all these years by virtue of itsisolation from other nations with which we haveto compete. It used to take a lot of money andtime to send anything to Australia.

Mr Lucas: The Liberal Party has donenothing about rail policy since the line wasconnected to Kyogle—nothing.

Dr WATSON: We are talking aboutinternational competition. Let us take shippingas an example. The cost of shipping productsbetween countries has fallen dramatically.Why? This is because the technologyassociated with shipping has changeddramatically, particularly over the past 20years. For example, I cite the size of shipstoday and the mechanisation associated withmoving products on and off ships. The reasonthe port costs became an issue in Australiaand elsewhere was that the cost of movinggoods through the port became a muchgreater percentage of the total costs ofshipping. As the costs of shipping have fallen,Australia has lost its protection from othercountries in that it no longer costs too much tosend products here.

Mr Lucas interjected.

Dr WATSON: If the honourable memberstops interjecting, I will get to that. Themember was a problem student and he still isa problem.

Mr Schwarten: Did you have him as astudent?

Dr WATSON: Not precisely, but he was inmy faculty. I think he went downhill when hewent over to the faculty of law.

The reality is that the costs oftransportation have fallen and Australia is nolonger protected from competition. The samething is happening with respect to informationtechnology. The cost of transmitting expertiseand information across the world is changingdramatically. For example, take the ease withwhich we can send messages from oneperson to another via email and the ease withwhich expertise can be communicated viatelephone or video conferencing.Communications technology and computersnow mean that people can communicate viathe Internet—something that has dramaticallyreduced the cost of transmitting information.Video and audio signals and data can be sentover the Internet at a fraction of the cost atwhich information could be transmittedpreviously. That means that we can nowtransfer expertise. For example, whereas weonce needed to bring in experts from Detroit toAustralia to assist in the production of cars,that expertise could now be obtained viamodern communication.

Mr Schwarten: That's a problem for us,too, here.

Dr WATSON: If we look at the reduction inthe costs of transportation and transmittinginformation as problems, we will be in trouble.

Mr Schwarten: What about the surveyingin Victoria done by the American company thatnever set foot in Australia?

Dr WATSON: It was done via satellite.

Mr Schwarten: Yes. How do youcompete with that?

Dr WATSON: The member has given aspecific example. There are other examples ofthings that we can do. The Minister forHousing would know that, as a result of the fallin the cost of transportation, we are now ableto export whole buildings to Japan and Korea.Although the drop in the cost of transportationhas affected our traditional industries, it hasalso enabled new industries to be opened up.Australia has to make sure that it is able totake advantage of the opportunities beingcreated, and not simply worry about theproblems arising from changes in the worldeconomy with respect to transport andinformation technology. I could give moreexamples, but I wish to return to informationtechnology.


We have to become a smarter country,State and locality—for example, Rockhamptonand elsewhere. We will not achieve that simplyby worrying about globalisation. Thisdevelopment has been termed "globalisation"or the "borderless business world". Theproblem is that the issue will not go away. Theonly question that we as a Parliament and apeople have to answer is: will we remainintimidated and scared by it? When will wemake up our minds to beat the competition?

As I said before, our sportsmen andwomen do not look for protection and favours.That is also the case in other spheres ofendeavour. I am one Queenslander whobelieves that we can take on the world andwin. We may have lost our advantage withrespect to our terms of trade and we may havelost our protection by virtue of our isolation.However, there are some things that I do notbelieve we have lost. We have not lost ourfighting spirit, ingenuity and "can do" attitude.

Mr Lucas: Your brother is a lawyer, youknow.

Dr WATSON: And a very successfullawyer, by the way.

Let us remember how successful andcourageous Queenslanders and Australianshave been on the sports fields and battlefieldsof the world. Let us tap into that well and takeon the world in a new battle—an economicbattle. Why can we not take the fighting spiritthat Australians showed at the Somme andapply it to the Surat? Why can we not take onthe ingenuity that Australians showed on theBurma railway and apply it to the informationsuperhighway? Why can we not take on thecourage shown at Long Tan and apply it atLongreach? If we remain afraid ofglobalisation, we are in for frightening times.As I said earlier, if we allow ourselves to beintimidated by international competition, wecondemn our constituents to poverty. I for onehave no intention of condemning anyQueenslander—my constituents or anyoneelse's—to poverty.

Mrs LAVARCH (Kurwongbah—ALP)(3.47 p.m.): It is with pleasure that I rise tosupport the motion for the adoption of theGovernor's Address moved by the member forBundaberg. I take this opportunity to thank thepeople of Kurwongbah for their support. It iswith great pride and honour that I take myplace in this Assembly as their representative. Iwill continue to strive to meet theirexpectations and serve my local community tothe best of my ability.

Mr Lucas: And you do it very well.

Mrs LAVARCH: I thank the member forLytton.

I wish also to take this opportunity toexpress my deepest gratitude to all of thosewho worked on my campaign—MichelleMcJannett, Steven Miles, Matt Lawrence,Michael Harding, Joy Seiffert, Lyn Moffatt,Mick Gillam, and not forgetting my wonderfulhusband, Michael, my beautiful children,Simon and Elizabeth, and my exceptionalmother-in-law, Colleen. It was with theirsupport, encouragement and sheer hard work,together with that of numerous other friends,supporters and branch members of the ALP,that we achieved the stunning result inKurwongbah. It must be remembered that wehad two elections in less than 12 months. Thatall of the supporters and branch members ofthe Labor Party in Kurwongbah kept up theirenthusiasm during that time was remarkable.

It has been some time since the memberfor Bundaberg moved the motion for theadoption of the Address in Reply and muchhas happened since that time. Many programsreferred to in the address have now been putin place and have changed Queensland forthe better. Others have been initiated andsoon will come to fruition—programs such asthe Jobs Plan, the Regional CommunitiesProgram, the Community Renewal Program,services to people with disability and freeambulance services for pensioners andSeniors Card holders, to name but a few.

Today I want members to cast their mindsback to the State election last June andremember the gruelling days after the electionwhen there was no clear result and all thetoing and froing that endured. I know manymembers would have shared the sameexperience as me following the election. Thefirst few days were a flurry of activity—cleaningup after the election and putting away thosevaluable corflutes. Then as the first week woreon, the office became quieter and quieter. Thephone hardly rang and people only poppedtheir head in the door to see if I had heardanything.

By the second week it became quiteeerie. My electorate office is located in aWestfield shopping centre at Strathpine. Eachday I would go into the centre to buy my lunch,and it seemed as if the whole State was inlimbo. Even though it was school holidays atthe time, the centre seemed quieter thanusual. It was quite depressing. Some localbusiness owners were telling me that eventheir phones had stopped ringing, yet it wasusually a busy time of the year for them.


By the Thursday of the second week,despite my best efforts, I had caught thedepression bug and it was not until midafternoon while listening to the radio that myspirits were lifted upon hearing theannouncement of the member for Nicklin. Bythe next day it was business as usual and thespell was broken. I want to pay tribute to themember for Nicklin, Peter Wellington, for hisdecision to support a Beattie LaborGovernment and break the paralysis whichhad gripped Queensland following the 13 Juneelection. His decision delivered stability forGovernment in Queensland. Although he wasattacked by some for this decision, I want toconvey to him that he received anoverwhelming endorsement from the people ofKurwongbah.

At the same time the media was having afeeding frenzy trying to analyse the success ofOne Nation. Many voiced opinions as to whythe major parties had lost such levels ofsupport and why so many people turned toOne Nation. It can be said that deep feelingsof community insecurity are probably at thecore of the disillusionment which fed OneNation's support. But judging by thecontribution those members have made to thedebate so far and what has happened in theirown ranks with one member resigning and fivenow sitting on the crossbenches, I do notbelieve that they have understood this or thatthey even know who their constituency is. Ifear that their obsession with the extremistissues will entrench the disillusionment andfurther undermine our political institutions.

For my part, I became acutely aware ofthe deep level of insecurity and uncertainty inthe community at the Kurwongbah by-electionin May 1997. In my first speech to this House,I addressed these issues at length and,although still very committed to my plea for abipartisan approach to addressing a new policyfoundation for Queensland and Australia, I willnot go back over them today. I will say,however, I have been able to achieve many ofthe goals set out in my plan for Kurwongbah,including the establishment of a Police Beatshopfront in the Westfield shopping centre atStrathpine and the publication and distributionof my Buy in Kurwongbah Guide to encouragelocals to buy locally, supporting not only localbusinesses but local jobs.

I want to also pay tribute to mypredecessor, Margaret Woodgate, for heraccomplishments in gaining long-neededGovernment infrastructure—new as well asupgrades to existing infrastructure—in ourarea. These included the new police station at

Petrie, the Pine Rivers Community HealthCentre and approval for the new State schoolat Eatons Hill. Until 1989 we had become theforgotten suburbs and it looked like we wereslipping back into this category under thecoalition Government's term of office between1996 and 1998. In the nine months since wetook office, this Government has beenresponsive to the needs of the residents ofKurwongbah and Pine Rivers generally, and Ihave been able to build on those initiativesthat Margaret Woodgate was able to achievefor our area, thereby making sure that we donot remain the forgotten suburbs.

In my contribution to this debate, I want toaddress some specific issues facing ourcommunity. Last year the daily newspaperscarried a series of opinion pieces aboutleadership. The authors posed and answeredthe question: what makes a great leader?There were many views expressed aboutconcepts of vision, of communication, oflistening to people and the ability to takepeople with you. One of the more interestingreflections by Gerard Henderson was thatleaders are made by the circumstances inwhich they find themselves. By this he meansthat we view great leaders by the events thatsurround them.

For instance, Henderson points out thatWinston Churchill is regarded as the greatwartime leader. But if the Second World Warhad not happened, if Chamberlain hadsecured peace in our time, then Churchillmight have been regarded as a failed wartimeleader—the man who would have beenremembered because of the folly of theDardanelles campaign of World War I. Maybethe same would be said of Abraham Lincolnwithout the American Civil War or Rooseveltwithout the Depression and the Second WorldWar. Without these momentous events, bothleaders might be regarded as competent andgood leaders, but not great.

I think there is much to this argument.Take John Howard.

An honourable member: Where?

Mrs LAVARCH: As far as you can,perhaps. He is often criticised for being anindifferent leader without vision or passion.Actually, at the Woodford Folk Festival thisyear the topic for the great debate was:Australia is boring. The affirmative team hadtheir whole argument in a name—JohnHoward. This criticism comes as much from hisown side of politics as anywhere else. TheQueensland National Party seemed particularlycritical of him. However, I am going to begracious here today.


John Howard's truly memorable display ofleadership was over an issue which neither henor anyone else would have foreseen at thetime he became Prime Minister. I speak of hishandling of the gun debate. The tragic eventof the Port Arthur massacre provided thecircumstance for Howard to display leadership.Why were his stand and his actions regardedso highly by most Australians? Firstly, thepolicy was correct. Despite the genuine viewsof some and the irrational ravings of others, itwas undoubtedly the right thing for access to arange of high powered weapons to be highlyrestricted and in some instances prohibited.Secondly, the Prime Minister was obliged topush the reform in the face of opposition fromhis own side.

This should not be overstated as, clearly,the vast majority of Liberal Party supportersand even a majority of National Party voterswanted change. But the real opposition camefrom right of centre. The balance of thecommunity report a leader who is willing to"break out of the type" and "stare down hisown constituency" when that constituency isperceived as wrong and unreasonable in theirviews. On no other issue has John Howardbeen able to combine these two featuresagain—a policy which the majority believe tobe correct and overcoming the opposition ofhis own side. On most other major issues hehas drawn the opposition of both the Left andelements of the Right—issues such as theprivatisation of Telstra and even the GST.

I have no doubt that in days to come hisembracing of zero tolerance will receive areception equal to its namesake. In casessuch as the waterfront dispute he might havehad Right Wing opinion behind him, but theimplementation was so appalling he not onlydrew the opposition of the Left but also that ofmany people who probably believed somereform was necessary, but not at the price ofthuggery, mass sackings, guard dogs and thelike.

So what are the circumstances in whichour Queensland leaders now find themselves?Will these be the circumstances which allowgreatness to emerge and is there capacity totake up this challenge and provide trueleadership? The Governor's address revealsthat our circumstances are challenging. Ourcountry does not face war nor our State theprospect of an economic depression, but shortof these two terrible events we do face asdaunting a set of challenges as we have atany time this century. Economic circumstancesare not bleak, nor are they easy, but, mostimportantly, economic opportunity is veryuneven.

Some industry sectors are performingreasonably well while others, such as theresource sector, some primary production andpart of the service sector, are doing it tough.Equally, economic prosperity amongst regionsand individual households varies considerably.This disparity of result and opportunitycontributes to a community sense ofuncertainty. This is manifested in concernabout unemployment and job security. TheGovernment's program, outlined in theGovernor's address, quite rightly places jobcreation at the top of its priorities. This programis based on the development of the regionalpotential of Queensland.

With the establishment of the Departmentof State Development as the engine room ofthe Government's economic goals, we havealready seen major projects getting supportand encouragement to deliver growth and jobsto Queensland. Outlined in the address is thegoal of economic development plans for eachof Queensland's regions, which will beimplemented in conjunction with local peoplethrough the establishment of a Statedevelopment centre in each region. This isproposed so that each region's individualstrengths can be maximised by having thosewho best know the region drive thedevelopment plans.

I am already aware of the excellentservice provided by the Aspley BusinessCentre, which services my electorate. RecentlyI was called upon by an employer who wasconfronting the likelihood of losing thebusiness and having 50 or more employeesput out of work. I immediately rang the centreto speak to a business adviser. That advisercame out straight away—and I mean within 20minutes—joined me on a tour of the factoryand engaged the managers in discussions. Ihave since received advice that all may besaved and it will be business as usual. Thesupport and prompt service given by thebusiness adviser has gone a long way tosaving those jobs.

As I said, jobs have been quite rightlyplaced as the highest priority of thisGovernment. Throughout the Governor'saddress, references to jobs and job initiativesare to be found, such as the 15,500traineeships and apprenticeships in both thepublic and private sectors and the 8,980 workplacements for the long-term unemployed; a$2,000 bonus to private sector employees orgroup training schemes which employadditional apprentices in designated skillsareas; initiatives to increase employmentopportunities in the building and constructionindustry; an additional $5m for marketing and


tourism, which should result in 1,410 jobs; anda commitment to employ more police andmore teachers.

I advise the House of the great successBreaking the Unemployment Cycle is in myarea. I have been asked by the coordinator ofour local Jobs Pathway Program to pass on histhanks and gratitude to the BeattieGovernment and Minister Paul Braddy for theexcellence of this program and the difference ithas made to young people's lives in PineRivers.

I also advise the House of theextraordinary efforts of the Jobs PathwayProgram team in Pine Rivers. In less thanthree months the Jobs Pathway Program teamhas assisted 149 Year 12 school leavers togain full-time employment. Sixty of thesepositions are traineeships and 30 areapprenticeships. Apprenticeships is a verydifficult youth labour market area. It is a creditto the marketing of this Jobs Pathway Programwith employer groups that the team is able tosecure these apprenticeships andtraineeships, which have in some instancesbeen the direct result of the Breaking theUnemployment Cycle initiative.

The Jobs Pathway Program team is veryconscious of the fact that the job market doesnot have a glut of trainee positions and that ithas been able to acquire for its participantsmore than its fair share. This is what goodgovernment can do and this is what goodgovernment is doing—making a positivedifference in people's lives.

Serving the interests of Queensland ismuch more than dealing with its economy.Queensland is a community, not simply aneconomy, and Government policy must givegreat store to strengthening our State's socialfabric. During the campaign in my electorate ofKurwongbah, the very different understandingof the Labor Party and my opponents aboutstrengthening and enhancing our social fabricbecame apparent to me. By "social fabric" Imean the store of community and humanrelations which make a society work. This is therelationship which exists effectively betweenstrangers within society—the basic trust.

In agrarian or traditional societies,individuals extend trust only to familymembers. Strangers are treated with hostilityor suspicion. In a civil society such as ours,trust is extended to strangers because there isa legitimate expectation, not always fulfilledbut at least presumed, that strangers willbehave in a civil manner. Every minute ofevery day interaction takes place, whether it isin the commercial sphere or the social sphere,

where we are dealing with strangers. Thosedealings are underpinned by basic trust. If thistrust continues to erode or is attacked to suchan extent that we perceive no-one astrustworthy, we will end up living behind six-footfences, never venturing out and living in fearthat we will become the victim of a homeinvasion. In other words, we will have little orno quality of life. We will have zero tolerance ofothers. This is not what I want, neitherpersonally nor for the community, and I amsure that no other member in this House wouldwant it either.

The challenge for each member of thisChamber in their capacity as a communityrepresentative and otherwise is to showleadership by avoiding feeding perceptions.We must stop undermining and eroding basictrust by short-sighted politicking for no purposeother than a 15-second TV grab.

The Address in Reply sets out thisGovernment's commitment to economicgrowth and development in this State and,equally important, our commitment toimproving community services toQueenslanders. The major priority is to ensurethat our social policies and initiatives make areal difference to the lives of Queenslandfamilies, parents, children and people in need.In nine months a real difference has started tobecome apparent and I have no doubt thatthis will continue, because good governmentcan and does make a difference.

Mr LAMING (Mooloolah—LP) (4.07 p.m.):Just as I did in 1995, I take this opportunity toreflect on some of the matters raised in myown maiden speech of 1992. I believe this is avaluable lesson in reflection of idealsexpressed, achievements or continuing efforts.I do of course acknowledge the role of ourGovernor, His Excellency Major GeneralArnison, AO. I would get universal agreementin this House, I am sure, as to the dignified yetfriendly way that he, accompanied so often byMrs Arnison, goes about his duties. There issomething about the role of Governors andGovernors-General which will be extremelydifficult to replicate if and when we asAustralians or Queenslanders makesubstantial changes to our respectiveconstitutions. I do not make that observationas an arch conservative resistant to changebut as a realist.

It would be remiss of me not to take theopportunity that the Address in Reply affordsme to thank a few special people that eitherassisted in my re-election or made my workmore effective. I thank my wife, Estelle; mycampaign director, Hunter Ploetz; my


campaign committee; my electorate officer,Lyn Parker; and our new assistant, AinsleyHall. The fact that their importance goeswithout saying does not mean that it ought notindeed be said.

In 1992 I referred to the then dream ofthe Sunshine Coast having its own university.Of course, that dream is now a reality and atremendous asset to the coast. I appreciatedthe opportunity to make a contribution whenthe Bill to change the campus's name andstatus was debated last year.

I spoke six years ago about anothervision, that of a rail line from the SunshineCoast to Brisbane. The previous coalitionGovernment had progressed this to theplanning stage, and I call on the Minister forMain Roads to continue the consultationprocess thoroughly so that the community is apart of that process. Whether it is light rail,heavy rail or dedicated busway will depend ona number of factors, and I trust that no optionsare ruled out.

In the meantime, the six-laning of thebusiest section of the Bruce Highway betweenBrisbane and the Sunshine Coast is becomingurgent. This crucial work does not appear inthe National Highways section of the latestRoads Implementation Program. I urge theMinister to follow this up with the FederalMinister.

Naturally, in my first contribution I madeparticular mention of the toll on the SunshineMotorway, and on behalf of coast residents Iwould like to say, "Thank goodness." Thanksto the former coalition Government, the toll isnow gone. I also welcome the assurance fromthe Minister for Main Roads during theEstimates debates that the Government doesnot intend to reintroduce those tolls. Sopopular has the motorway now become—operating as it always should have, as afreeway—that it, too, is in need of four-laningin its central section.

I note from the recent RoadsImplementation Program document that thebulk of this work is scheduled for the period2000-2003. I contend that this work should bebrought forward to no later than the year 2000.I urge the Minister to reconsider this upgradeprogram and disregard any consideration of itsformer status as a toll road as impacting onthe program's timing. In conjunction with thiswork, it is becoming vital that the intersectionof Buderim-Mooloolaba Road with themotorway must be addressed. This complex,staggered intersection is causing considerabletraffic congestion which is not confined to peak

traffic periods. I ask the Minister to request hisofficers to report on a solution to this problem.

Similarly, one of the tightest sections oftraffic on the Sunshine Coast is the NicklinWay between Currimundi and the MooloolahRiver, particularly that section north of PointCartwright Drive. The proposed Kawana arterialwill provide an alternative north-south routebetween Caloundra and Mooloolaba as well asa western link via the Sunshine Motorway tothe Bruce Highway. The bulk of this work isscheduled for the period beyond the year2003. I call on the Minister to use every effortavailable to bring this work forward as much aspossible consistent with the works program ofKawana Estates. With the growth rate beingexperienced on the Sunshine Coast, I do notbelieve that the Nicklin Way can cope alone forthe next four years, even taking into accountthe upgrading that is currently underconsideration.

Naturally, I made particular mention ofunemployment in my maiden speech six yearsago and have done so on a number ofoccasions since. I will come back to that topica little later. Another project I signalled in 1992was the emerging need for a police station atBuderim. Well, the need is still there andgrowing, and I have called on—and willcontinue to call on—the Minister for Police togive consideration to this need. I will comeback to policing in the north coast region, too,a little later.

It is not just that I represent an electoratewith higher than average unemployment that Iam personally passionate about jobs, but Isuppose that fact does constantly remind meof how the whole community suffers frominstitutionalised unemployment andunderemployment. It is not just jobs. Ipersonally believe that every member of ourcommunity who is able to make a commitmentand a contribution to their community shouldbe given the opportunity and, indeed, beexpected to do so. I reflect back to my firstspeech again, when I said—

"If one examines the functions of ourexisting parliamentary committees,important as they may be toparliamentary theorists, one would haveto wonder whether by the turn of thecentury, ordinary Queenslanders wouldhave been better served by thisParliament with the establishment of anemployment committee."

The end of the century is now less than twoyears away, and I have not changed my mind.I would, of course, prefer that half a millionjobs could be found in private enterprise. If


that is not going to occur quickly, Governmentsmust look elsewhere in the short term.

It is, of course, a personal view aboutwhich I remain somewhat sanguine, but we dohave a structural problem of government inAustralia which is one of the greatest obstaclesto some of the possible answers tounemployment. I refer, of course, to the factthat it is the Federal Government that has theresponsibility for welfare, includingunemployment benefits, and the States thatare responsible for most of the country's PublicService delivery.

Current moves by the Commonwealth areencouraging, and I believe that we are nowmoving in the right direction with work-for-doleprograms expanding into new areas ratherthan just pointless make-work schemes. Onesuch area is a program providing for SunshineCoast courtesy officers. This program givesyoung unemployed people an opportunity togain skills and experience in the tourismindustry on the coast. In the course of theirtraining, they will be promoting local businessand attractions. The sponsors of this programare CADET—the Caloundra Agency forDevelopment, Employment and Training.There are, of course, other programs, such asthe Business Incubator being proposed by theSunshine Coast Area Consultative Committee.Such a centre would include office and lightindustrial uses and would also assist suitablehome-based businesses that conform to localcouncil regulations.

This is an emerging business opportunity.I will continue to seek Government assistancefor this initiative. I commend the efforts on thisproject so far by Ros Hourigan, Earl Covington,David Hopper, Linda Maxwell and othermembers of the Sunshine Coast AreaConsultative Committee. I call on the Ministerfor Employment to recognise the business andjob creation role of such projects.

I said earlier that I would come back tothe question of policing. Although my initialinterest in police numbers was sparked by anapparent shortage in and around my ownelectorate, my approach to the problem wasanything but parochial. Let me say thatQueensland, by national comparisons, was letdown by the former Goss Labor Government. Isupported and commend the work done bythe former coalition Minister, the member forCrows Nest, who inherited the run-downsituation. His work in lifting police numbers rightacross the State is on the public record.

But then there was the method ofdistribution throughout the regions. The policestaffing allocation model was set up

supposedly to take the politics out of this task.After considerable research, I was able toidentify that the north coast and the GoldCoast/Logan regions were very muchdisadvantaged by some of the factors in themodel. I believe that the basis for the modelshould be revised. In the meantime, the northcoast was just starting to benefit from thecoalition's increased recruitment andcivilianisation. I call on the current Minister tocontinue the good work of his predecessor.

I was disappointed to learn that theSunshine Coast district was not listed amongstthe latest recipient districts receiving what areknown as retreads. I will be watching closely toensure that the Sunshine Coast does not slipback to its former disadvantaged position. Letme say quite clearly that I intend to monitorclosely the continued flow of officers to thenorth coast region to ensure that the processof redress continues under the newGovernment. I believe that it is essential to getthose extra police officers required to mountfoot and car patrols in problem areas,particularly at night and on weekends.

There are a number of other areasthroughout Queensland, I am sure, that arehaving similar problems with congregations ofmainly young people at night. It is importantthat we do not categorise all young people intothis troublesome group. It is a small minority,but their antisocial activities are causingconcern in many of our communities. As muchas I am continuing to call for more police andreactive police attention to unlawful activities,we as legislators have a wider responsibility. Itis difficult to address all of the contributingfactors, such as dysfunctional families, alcoholand drug abuse and youth unemployment.Yet with something approaching 40% of youthon the Sunshine Coast unemployed, that isobviously a good place to start.

This is a national disgrace, and it isunacceptable. Of course, there are otherproactive measures that are being taken toaddress youth problems. I cite as an examplethe great change in Schoolies Week on theSunshine Coast. By providing non-harmfulactivities for our young visitors, SchooliesWeek has become something to which coasttraders now look forward. I give credit to DavidCurd of Community Solutions for hiscontribution to this outcome. Perhaps we cantransplant this successful formula to the nextage group. I would like to think that we could.

The contribution of the Sunshine CoastCommunity Police Partnership was just startingto become evident when I was advised thatthe Minister for Police was intending to drop


the program. I wrote to the Minister, and takethis opportunity to acknowledge this extensionof funding to the CPP, but request that heassess each CPP on its level of local supportand give Julia Knight of the Sunshine CoastCPP the funding and support to continue theirwork—a little extra time to present a case forits retention. I believe it could provide anexample to others as to how they can be runsuccessfully. If the consideration is purelybudgetary, perhaps there is some unusedfunding that can be transferred from regionswhere CPPs have terminated.

I have already referred to the SunshineCoast University from an academicperspective, but I would now like to mentionanother challenge. The university wassuccessful in its bid for funding of $1.4m toconstruct a ten-lane synthetic surface athleticstrack last year. I acknowledge the support ofthe former coalition Minister, the member forSouthport, and that of the Maroochy ShireCouncil, which contributed $100,000.Unfortunately, an unforeseen problem withbase soil type arose, which has requiredadditional expenditure to ensure that the tracksurface meets the exacting internationalstandards. I made representations to the newMinister for Sport and hoped that he wouldrecognise the need to ensure that the track isconstructed on the right foundations. I havebeen advised that this bid for furtherassistance was not successful. That isdisappointing. I will be continuing my efforts toensure that we do achieve a first-class trackwith all the necessary facilities to go with it assoon as possible. To this end, I have written toboth Caloundra City Council and Noosa ShireCouncil in a bid to gain their support for thistruly regional facility.

I have mainly addressed issues today thatwere of interest or concern to me when I firstentered this place. If I am fortunate enough tobe re-elected in the year 2000 or 2001, I wouldlike to revisit some of these important issues atthat time and be able to report that many ofthem have indeed been successfullyaddressed.

Hon. J. FOURAS (Ashgrove—ALP)(4.20 p.m.): I am pleased to take part in theAddress in Reply debate. I join with others ingiving my best wishes to the Governor, MajorGeneral Arnison, and his wife, Barbara. I knewthem both very well when Major GeneralArnison was in charge of the Enoggerabarracks. I found him to be a person with avery good touch with people. I am sure that hewill continue to be a very good Governor forthe people of this State.

Today I will address an issue that wasbrought to my attention following two visits Ireceived from parents of young men who wereimprisoned. In both those instances, theparents were very critical of what washappening to their sons. In both cases, theywent to prison because of their problems withamphetamines. While they were in prison, theydeveloped a problem with heroin. It is very,very sad that those people should go to prisonand end up with those sorts of problems. Iknow that the Government is trying very hardto solve the very difficult problem of ridding ourprisons of drugs. If honourable members putthemselves in the position of those twoparents who have children who now have aheroin problem because they were sent to jailfor amphetamine problems, they willunderstand how stupid is the policy forhandling drug-addicted people. Those peoplestole to maintain a drug habit. That is quiteusual. That is why they were sent to prison.They committed non-violent crimes.

Recently, when I heard about drug courts,I was motivated to do some research todetermine their relevance in the Australiancontext. It is important to point out to theHouse that today, in the Parramatta CourtHouse, Australia will have its first drug court.After a few months of organising the system,the New South Wales Government will operatea two-year trial. That drug court is based onthe American system. I do not like all thingsAmerican. Later I will discuss my total dislikefor the American zero tolerance policies.However, I believe drug courts have a lot ofbenefits. Where they have worked well, areduction in drug use and associated crimehas been achieved. Drug courts bring togetherthe criminal justice system and the healthsystem to intervene together in the lives ofpeople who are caught in a cycle of drugs andcrime. We have to treat the drug addiction.There needs to be supervision for theoffenders for a period of between 12 and 16months. Education, employment, medical andother issues contributing to the offender'saddiction must also be attended to.

Drug courts were instituted in America byPresident Clinton in 1994. Currently, 275 drugcourts are operating in 48 States, with another155 in the planning stages. A clearing housein America conducted an assessment of thedrug court system and found that the cost perparticipant per year was US$2,500, or about$A4,000. In America, incarceration costs arebetween US$20,000 and US$50,000 per year,on top of which must be added the capitalcosts of US$80,000 to build a jail cell. We are


talking about real savings, apart from thesocial benefits.

I investigated two places in the USA thathad substantial drug courts. The drug court inBrooklyn operates five days a week, eighthours a day. Sixty-plus offenders per day gothere. Nearly half of them—45%—have to beput in residential care, because they havenowhere to go but the streets. The others aretreated in clinics as outpatients. The Miamicourt deals with 80 offenders per day. I thinkthat it is the largest drug court in the USA. Acost/benefit analysis for the Miami courtindicates that for every US$1 spent,approximately US$7 is saved elsewhere in thecriminal justice system. Apart from keepingyoung people out of a jail system that aidstheir drug problem rather than helps it, thedrug courts provide a solution that meets thesocial needs of drug addicts as well as savingsociety a lot of money.

In the USA, the retention rate for drugcourts averages over 70% for hard-coreaddicts, which is much higher than the figurefor voluntary treatment programs. In bothMiami and Boston, the drug courts that aremost successful are characterised by a strongcoalition between the court, law enforcement,treatment providers and community groups.We need to understand the need to integratedrug courts into a range of Government andnon-Government services to provide thetreatment, the support services, education,employment and training as well ascounselling and mental health services.

We have to be honest while we aretalking about the drug problem and say that itis sad and really dreadful that we do not havemental health services for all the young peoplewho need them. Parents have come to meand said that they cannot get help for theirchildren who are behaving in an irrationalmanner. Similarly, they cannot get them into adrug detoxification centre. As a society or as aParliament, we cannot talk seriously about thisissue without being fair dinkum about doingsomething about that. I think that thecommunity, after being consulted fully andafter having the issue explained, will acceptthe treatment of drug addiction and relatedcrime as a medical and social problem and notas a legal problem.

Studies of offenders show that mostbegin committing crimes before using illicitdrugs. The important issue is that offenderswho are drug users commit many more crimesthan their non-drug using peers. Therefore, ifwe are to achieve a significant benefit from adrug court, it is important to focus on the

offenders who are continuing to commit a highvolume of crime. Property crime offenders arelargely driven by drug dependence. I ampleased that Lawrence Springborg, theOpposition spokesman on Justice, has comeout publicly and said that he supports drugcourts. I am sure that the Premier, who isgoing to take this proposal to the PremiersConference, will be pleased that there is someapparent bipartisanship on drug courts. It issad that the bipartisanship on prison policythat occurred in this State towards the end of1986 during my first year in this Parliament hasdisappeared. We have had an unbelievablelaw and order auction in this State. It isunbelievable that, in the past 10 years, wehave had a bigger increase in prisonpopulation than any other State in Australia.We have to be careful, because we will godown to the level of States like California,which have seven times our prison population.On a per capita basis, we have more than halfthe prison population of Victoria.

We need to ask ourselves whether we areserving the people well by going out there andscaring the socks off people, by havingauctions about who can be the toughest, whilewe are not getting the outcomes we want. Ipoint out to the Premier that a drug court trialin Queensland should not focus primarily onfirst-time drug offenders—although they shouldbe involved—because most of those would bemarijuana users. The Government shouldensure that eligibility for a drug court must notbe only first-time offenders but include all drug-dependent offenders, particularly those whoare non-violent. Of course, we do not wantviolent offenders kept out of jail. Those whoconsistently commit property offences, who aredriven largely by their drug dependence,should be eligible to appear before a drugcourt.

As I said before, over the past 10 yearsQueensland has experienced Australia'slargest post-war prison population increase.However, there has not been thecorresponding decrease in Queensland's crimerates. In his Speech, the Governor spokeabout the money that is going to go towardsbuilding prisons—an increase from $80m inthe previous year to $178m this year. We willalso have 50 more prison officers. I think thatwe have to take politics out of prison policy.We need to have a bipartisan approach to dothings that work. Sadly, I do not see anyindication of that happening.

We need to try to do more withcommunity service orders, probation and non-custodial sentences for minor offenders. Wealso need to praise the current Police Minister


for returning independence to the parole boardand for not requiring the parole board to havea fail-safe, no-risk policy, otherwise themembers of the parole board will lose theirjobs.

I remember in Western Australia the caseof a serial rapist, who was sentenced to 20years' jail, and who was going to be releasedafter he had served 18 and a half years. Therewas absolute outrage voiced by a talkbackradio host about this, who said that it was adisgrace. However, the redneck talkback radiohost forgot to tell the public that in a year anda half that person was going to be out,anyway, and that the parole board decided toput him on four years' parole so that he couldbe controlled. When the Chief Justice ofWestern Australia said on radio, "Do not takenotice of this nonsense. It is not true.Understand that if we do not do anything, in18 months this person will be out withouthaving any checks and balances and withouthaving to report." The talkback radio hostignored what the Chief Justice had to say andcontinued to say what a disgrace it was thatthey were letting pack rapists roam thecommunity. That is the sort of rhetoric, that isthe sort of politics and bloody-mindedness thatwe are getting from such populist talkbackradio hosts. So I urge the Premier and thePolice Minister to not wait to see how the two-year trial in New South Wales goes but to dosomething about it.

Although I have just lauded andsupported the American concept of drugcourts, I want to speak about my abhorrenceof the concept of zero tolerance, which isattracting increased interest in Australia, mostof it, unfortunately, ill informed. People such asthe redneck ex-Chief Minister of the NorthernTerritory, Mr Stone, go to New York on a studytour and come back and tell us that zerotolerance is the panacea that will reduce crimesignificantly. I think that we ought to be verycareful about listening to those people who arebeing briefed by people in America who arepushing this sort of agenda, such as the "threestrikes and you're out" agenda, 100%sentencing and mandatory sentences. Whenall of those policies are put in the Australiancontext, I believe that they will be absolutelyabysmal and will fail the Australian people.There is a lack of relevance to the zerotolerance concept in Australia. The claimsabout its worth are exaggerated. However,more than that and just as importantly, weneed to take account of the cost of suchstrategies. I will get to that in a minute.

There are major societal differencesbetween Australia and the USA. Firstly, crime

patterns are different. In New York, theconnection between policing minor offencesand affecting serious crimes has some validity,particularly when the police started zerotolerance in the early 1990s. In those days, if aNew York policeman picked up somebody forcommitting a minor crime, it was highly likelythat, because the police were dealing with ahighly criminalised, heavily armed population, ifthat policeman stopped somebody for a minoroffence, there was every chance that thatperson would be carrying an illegal firearm orthat he or she would be subject to a warrant,or would be on parole for a serious offence, sothat attempt at committing a minor crimewould really be an attempt at committing aserious crime. Therefore, zero toleranceallowed police to deal with serious crime.

In Australia, people do not regularly carryguns. In Australia, the worst violence iscommitted in private rather than in public. InAustralia, homicides are committedoverwhelmingly by people who are intimates oracquaintances of their victims. In Australia,people do not just go around shooting people,although there have been a few instances ofthat recently. Therefore, Australia's homiciderates are not likely to be affected significantlyby the New York style of zero tolerancepolicing.

I believe that zero tolerance represents aserious threat to the successful communitypolicing concept, as that concept relies on aclose cooperation between the police and thepeople. I ask members to imagine what wouldhappen if The Gap police officer, who I think isdoing a great job in my electorate, decides topick up and charge every young person withthe most minor of offences. If that policeofficer created that sort of problem in society,he could not do his job as a communitypoliceman. The cooperation between thepublic and the police does that job.

Zero tolerance is designed for a societydivided by class and race. I repeat that: zerotolerance is not designed for Australiansociety; it is designed for a society that haschasms of class and race. It is a response to afear of the underclass; it is a response to theeconomic circumstances of the underclass andwhat they are doing in order to survive. InAustralia, we have a much strongercommitment to welfare, to supportmechanisms and safety nets, to public healthand to inclusive policies such asmulticulturalism. Despite what some peoplemight hear, I believe that we are inclusive. Wesay to people, "We do not see you as adifferent citizen because you come from


Greece or from Asia." Certainly that has beenmy experience.

The costs of zero tolerance are notjustified by any gains. Aggressive streetpolicing leads to serious social disorder. Thosewho are targeted become marginalised. Theysee themselves as not being part of thecommunity. Equally important is the cost of thesubstantial increase in the prison population.As I said, some American States have seventimes the average per capita prisonpopulation. We do not want that here. Ifincarceration of those swept up by zerotolerance is not going to be forever, if we arenot going to throw them in jail and throw awaythe key, if it is temporary, it will becounterproductive, because they are going tobe released at some time. If one wanted tomake minor crime lead to major crime, sendingminor offenders to jail would be the classic wayof doing it. If one wants an increase in majorcrime in the future, then have the zerotolerance concept—go around and pick uppeople for doing nothing, throw them in theclink and see what social cost one has to bear.

As I said before, zero tolerance is a policyfor a society that is very different fromAustralia. It is a terrible indictment on ourPrime Minister that he should seek advice fromthe FBI on drug policy. It is an indictment onhim that he does not want to understand thefundamental difference between Australia andthe USA. If we are going to talk aboutinclusiveness, if we are going to talk abouttolerance and if we are going to talk about asociety that values social justice, I think that itis important that we treat people who are drugoffenders and who commit serious crimes,which are a cost to society, in a health andsocietal environment. That is why I think thedrug courts are going to be of great benefit.

Although I was going to speak todayabout this matter, when I picked up theSunday Mail last Sunday I was quite pleasedto read that the Premier had taken the windout of my sails by taking this concept to thePremiers Conference. I am delighted that heis, because all I have done is some readingand have come to an understanding that itcan work if it is properly resourced and properlyinstituted. I do not think that we need to goanywhere; we need to do our own trials, weneed to have people with the resources. Weneed to have a bonding between Governmentagencies. We must make sure that we haveresources such as mental health services,detox centres, training and employmentopportunities and educational facilities.

I ask all members to consider seriouslythe fact that, down the road these serioussocial problems can best be resolved by themembers of this Parliament removing theirpolitical coats and acting in a statesmanlikemanner that shows they understand therealities of the society in which we live. AsSocrates said, if we need to search for thecommon good, it is important that we removeourselves from self-interest. A large measureof disinterest is required. Unfortunately, toomany decisions in this Chamber are colouredby political self-interest to the detriment of thepeople of Queensland.

Mr NELSON (Tablelands—IND)(4.40 p.m.): I have met the Governor of thisState on two occasions: firstly, when I wasdressed in a suit at Government House and,secondly, when I was standing in the bottomof a muddy pit up to my knees in rubbish andall sorts of stuff when he was inspecting ourlines at Shoalwater Bay. The situations onthose two occasions were incredibly different. Itis something similar to the first time I stood upin this House and when I stand up in thisHouse today. I personally did not enter politicslightly and I do not take lightly the responsibilitythat has been given to me on behalf of the21,662 people who live on the Tablelands.

Mr Welford: Approximately.

Mr NELSON: Approximately, according tothe Queensland Electoral Commission. Thesimple fact remains that I have to serve thosepeople to the best of my ability and use myvoice to represent the issues that affect them,and affect them greatly, I must say, especiallyover the past few years. I do not see the voteon the Tablelands as a vote of protest; I see itmore as a vote for change. The previousmember had his failings and the peopleelected a new member to do a job. I am tryingmy hardest to do that job.

I do not know what other members do intheir electorates, but in my electorate I goaround small communities twice a month andhave a community meeting. I go to suchplaces as Millaa Millaa, Mount Garnet orRavenshoe and I pull out a chair and sit in thecentre of the circle and talk to people. MillaaMillaa is a small town and some 25 to 30people came to the meeting to talk aboutissues.

People on both sides of this Housepassionately believe in things, and rightly so.Even though I believe in something andsomeone else believes in somethingcompletely different, those beliefs are firmlyheld. Whether I am right or wrong is a questionfor history, but the main thing that happens in


this House is that politics start to cloud theissue. A few people start to put the party firstand their electorates second. I chose not to dothat. I chose to put the people who voted forme first and the party that I representedsecond. That is why I am here today as anIndependent and no longer a member of OneNation. It is unfortunate that that hashappened. I believe that the One Nation Partyhad a lot to give but, as I heard one policeofficer say about the Police Service, it is theparty that left me, I did not leave the party.Enough said on that matter!

I am 25 years old and I will soon be 26. Iam no longer young. I am officially an adult.As a 25-year-old man, if I was not elected toParliament, what would be out there for me asan educated ex-soldier? I have a lot of friendswho are either the same age as me, orperhaps a little younger, who have very littleprospect of ever having a full-time job. That issomething that my father took for grantedwhen he was young. My grandfather certainlytook it for granted. In my limited experience, afull-time job is the only thing that can makeone a full-time citizen. One needs to have theability to earn an income and support a familyand to have some sort of security. That doesnot happen any more. Many of my goodfriends—people with whom I grew up and wentthrough school—have idled away at universityfor a few years, received a degree, and arenow either stuffing bags at Woolies or standingin dole queues. That is a shame.

I heard the member for Moggill talkingabout globalisation as if it was a good thing. Ido not care what spin one puts on it,globalisation is an horrific thing. Those athletesthat the member talked about do not work withboth their hands tied behind their backs. At themoment our farmers and our smallbusinessmen are certainly working with theirhands tied behind their backs. On the onehand, these people are working against theenvironment. Cyclone Rona is a goodexample. Farmers have a good year once in awhile but then find it is ripped out fromunderneath them. On the other hand, they aretaxed into the deck so that they cannot get aleg up anyway. To top it all off, theGovernment of the day—no matter whatGovernment it may be—jumps up and cutstheir legs out from underneath them by takingaway any protection that they may have had.We are not talking about the fact that theycannot compete. Our primary producers areprobably some of the most effective in theworld, being able to produce on land thatpeople in many other countries would considermarginal at best. What we are calling a level

playing field is certainly not level by any stretchof the imagination.

Where I come from, politics is a dirty word.As I said, it is incumbent upon people whocome into this House to have beliefs. Iunderstand that, and I certainly have somevery strong beliefs myself. However, I believethat everyone in this House, including myself,is guilty of sometimes putting party politicsbefore the electorate, either knowingly orunknowingly. That has to stop. Perhaps theonly thing we can take from the vote in 1998 isthat people are somewhat sick and tired ofparty politics and they want to see some realrepresentation. They want to know that theirvoice is being heard in this House, untaintedby any academic spin or party political favour.People want to see their members come intothis House and express those views withoutfear or favour, because freedom of speech issomething that has to be protected. If amember feels that he cannot say somethingon behalf of the people in his electorate, itbodes ill for this House and for democracy ingeneral.

There are so many points that I couldbring up about rural decline and so on, butthey have all been mentioned previously.Queensland is a decentralised State. We havecities such as Townsville and Cairns and wehave areas such as the Tablelands wherepeople have chosen to live. We have peoplespread out over the whole State. Whether welike it or not, I believe that is a tribute to theBjelke-Petersen years. The National PartyGovernment at that time worked todecentralise the State and move things awayfrom the State capital. Unfortunately, in theyears since Mr Bjelke-Petersen leftGovernment the fortress Brisbane mentalityhas seeped back into affairs. It hasentrenched a feeling of disfranchisement inthe area that I represent. People believe thatthey are not included any more. That angerhas been expressed by the election of the 10people who sit at the back on this side of theHouse as well as the few Independents whowere also elected.

I have heard a lot of talk about the slayingof the One Nation beast. Be that as it may, theissues remain the same. The media does notunderstand that no matter what it does to OneNation, to me, or to any other political party:those issues remain. Those people still hurt.Those people are still wondering.

I had a very interesting talk with anacademic. Let me say that I do not believethat there is any person on this planet moreout of touch than an academic. An academic


is a person who sits in a university and looks atstatistics and is probably the most out-of-touchperson in society.

I do not blame anyone for my situation.The people in my electorate do not blameanyone for the situation they are in. If theyblame anyone, they blame themselves. Iblame myself for the problems that areinherent in the system today. I blame myselfbecause, hey, I voted and therefore I mustshoulder some responsibility. Instead of doingsome things that I probably wanted to do, Iallowed my family to talk me into running forParliament. Members of my family said,"Shaun, there is a better way of going aboutmaking change. Do it through the system." SoI ran for Parliament, and here I am trying tomake change from within. Unfortunately, Isincerely doubt that I will be able to make anychanges to the system. I think that this systemis too well entrenched. I believe that partypolitics is too well entrenched. I believe thatthe genuine voice of the people has beenrailroaded within the party political system.Unfortunately, that leaves me with a pretty badtaste in my mouth.

By ignoring the message and not listeningto what I am saying today, what has been saidover the past two months and what will be saidover the next two years, honourable membersare alienating people like me. I am no longerin the minority. Many people in my electoratefeel exactly the same way I do. Whethermembers like it or not, 44% of the people inmy electorate gave me their first preferencevote. That is a lot of people. Taken right acrossAustralia, we see that a lot of people do notagree with the way in which things are beingdone. I am the first to admit that 65% of thepeople in my electorate did not vote for me.However, the situation remains the same.Dramatic change is needed, and that changeneeds to be at a party political level. Partieshave to look at what they are doing and at thedirection in which they are moving and say,"Either we have moved away from the peopleor the people have moved away from us."Either way, those changes need to be madeat a base level.

I wish to speak about a few local issues,some of which I have raised previously withMinisters. The first issue is quite important tome. A Vietnam veteran in my electorate losthis daughter to toxic shock syndrome. Underparliamentary privilege, I can make a fewcomments about the coronial inquests into thismatter. Personally, I believe that the findingsof those coronial inquests were wrong. Basedon the information given to me, I believe thatthose findings were made so that Johnson &

Johnson would not be held liable for herdeath. I know that is a dramatic thing to say,but the simple fact is that the coroner hasmade a fundamental error of judgment inslighting these people. I know that the loss ofa loved one is something that we cannot reston; the loss will not go away. I will be askingmore and more questions about this matter. Ihave corresponded with the Attorney-Generaland I have received what I consider to be twonon-satisfactory answers. I suggest that hefind out a bit more about it and make thechanges that need to be made. This is a veryimportant issue to me and to this constituent inmy electorate.

The second important issue is thecompletion of the bridge at Herberton. Itscompletion date and construction have beendelayed such that it is taking months andmonths to finish a simple bridge inside a townin my electorate. I would like the Minister forTransport to look at that matter. I have raisedtwo issues with the Minister for EmergencyServices and the Minister for Environment andHeritage. One concerns a logging parcel inRavenshoe and the other concerns the StateEmergency Service.

A final issue of interest to me concerns afarm outside of Ravenshoe that used to beowned by a man called Sweetman until it waspurchased by an Aboriginal group inRavenshoe. I have held meetings with thatAboriginal group and representatives of thecorporation at the farm. To cut a long storyshort, these people became involved in thisfarm to try to do something good. They tooksteps to advance themselves instead of justsitting around taking handouts. They havebeen cut off from funding. Every attempt Ihave made through ATSIC to get funding forthem has failed. The community has incurredlarge debts. This is a perfect example ofATSIC not meeting its responsibility to thepeople whom it is supposed to represent. Wemust not let people get into this situation andthen just leave them behind. I hope this is amessage that will get out. It is certainly anissue that I will be running with over the nextfew months.

I wish to raise another issue of genuineconcern to me. Honourable members mayhave seen a movie on TV the other nightcalled A Time To Kill. It basically portrayed aman in the southern United States who wastotally frustrated with the justice system.Believing that nothing would be done, he tookthe law into his own hands—rightly orwrongly—and shot the perpetrators of a violentcrime against one of his loved ones. I will tellthe House right now that, if I was in that man's


situation, I would do exactly the same thingwithout any hesitation at all.

Mr Reynolds interjected.

Mr NELSON: The honourable membershould make sure that he does so.

This issue goes to the heart of what themember for Ashgrove was speaking aboutearlier. I do not believe that fine defaultersshould go to prison. That is a ridiculous wasteof time. I do not think that people should go toprison for not voting at a State election.However, there are certain people whom Ibelieve should go to prison. There are certainpeople for whom I believe rehabilitation doesnot work. For 16 years I have watched myfather fight crime. To say that it has been anuphill battle is probably one of the biggestunderstatements I can make. I have seen himbring people before the courts time and timeagain, and those people have receivedsuspended sentence after suspendedsentence or have not had a convictionrecorded. The courts now use the recording ofa conviction as a punishment: "This time we'regoing to record your conviction." I can tellmembers now that, whether they like it or not,that message is getting out into thecommunity and people are now committingcrimes because they know they will not bepunished. Zero tolerance is not the issue. Theproblem relates to penalties and sentences.

I was brought up to believe that if you dothe crime, you do the time. I know that peoplehave beliefs that are different from mine. Ibelieve that some people cannot berehabilitated. I know people in my electoratewho have been victims of violent crime orwhose family members have been murdered.Members should put themselves in theirposition and see things from their perspective.I know what I would be doing in their situation.I can judge the issue only on what I would doin their situation. I do not believe that violentcriminals—people who murder, rape andpillage their way through our community—canbe rehabilitated. If someone takes a life, I donot believe that person can be rehabilitated. Ido not believe that is the way to go. I do notbelieve we should be arguing for that in thisHouse. If you rape and murder, you should bepunished.

People are completely and utterlydissatisfied with our justice system. People aresick and tired of having their houses brokeninto, their daughters raped and all sorts ofother emotive things that I could mention.People are genuinely sick of it. My house hasbeen broken into. The perpetrator will never becaught. I am a law-abiding citizen. I do my

best to abide by the laws of this State. Peoplein my electorate handed in their firearms eventhough they have never committed a criminaloffence in their lives, yet people committingcrimes get a suspended sentence or twoyears. This, in addition to everything else Ihave spoken about this afternoon, is a realissue.

Some members of this House have onlyjust come here. Others have been here for 20-odd years. Some have come from working-class backgrounds similar to mine. Forhowever long I am here, the biggest thing forme will be not to forget where I came from,who I represent and what I mean to do in thisplace. During the condolence motion thismorning we heard about two men I had nevermet and who were members of this Parliamentbefore I was born. Interestingly, one of themhad said that perhaps there are too manyacademics in this House. I agree; there are fartoo many academics in this House. This Houseneeds to take a reality check, and soon. I amhere to tell the House now, as a representativeof all dissatisfied people, that theirdissatisfaction is on simmer and it will not taketoo much more for it to boil.

Mr HOBBS (Warrego—NPA) (4.59 p.m.): Iwish to reaffirm my allegiance to QueenElizabeth II and to His Excellency GovernorArnison. This debate on the motion for theadoption of the Address in Reply givesmembers of Parliament the opportunity to beable to talk on a wide range of subjects thatare important to them and to their electoratesand on issues that affect the whole State. Iwant to cover a number of issues today.

Firstly, some changes have been maderecently to the Patient Transit Scheme. We arefinding that people who use the Royal FlyingDoctor Service in western Queensland are nowbeing denied the service that they previouslyenjoyed. I hope that the Minister for Health willbe able to turn this situation around very, veryquickly. The situation is this: previously underthe patient travel subsidy scheme, when theflying doctor held a clinic, say, at the miningtown of Yowah, which is west of Cunnamulla,anybody who had to be flown from there to,say, a specialist in Toowoomba or Charlevillewould get the subsidy for the whole trip.

However, now a system has been put inplace whereby a person will get the subsidyonly for a flight to the hospital closest to thespecialist to whom they have been referred.So a person would have to travel theequivalent of 100 kilometres before thesubsidy kicks in. The same thing could be saidfor people who live at Birdsville. They have to


fly from Birdsville to Quilpie before the subsidystarts to kick in. So a person will have to travelnearly 600 kilometres before they get anyhelp. Whether that is an anomaly or isdeliberate, I am not sure. I certainly believe it isan important issue that needs to be addressedvery, very quickly.

Another issue that is very important notjust to my area in the west but also to thewhole of Queensland is the airconditioning ofschools. A lot of the newer members probablywould not be aware that, prior to 1989 whenthe Bjelke-Petersen Government lost office, ascheme was put in place to airconditionschools starting from the west. When we lostGovernment that scheme was stopped. Thatline got to about Mitchell down to Bollon. Itwas slowly being extended to the coast.Nothing really happened for a few more yearsand then, as we all know, the zone waschanged to the north. That is fine; all schoolshave to be airconditioned.

However, we need to put in place very,very quickly a plan to fix up all those schools. Ifwe keep airconditioning those schools startingfrom the north, for instance, it will be a very,very slow process and it will be many, manyyears before some of the schools out in thewestern region get airconditioning simplybecause of the huge numbers of schools inthe north. I would certainly suggest in very,very strong terms that we also institute ascheme whereby we can aircondition thoseschools in the west as well. There are not a lotof schools in that region in comparison to thenorth, and we would cover a lot of ground. Wewould be able to move very, very quickly andget into the suburbs in a short time.

It is important to realise that out in thosewestern areas the schools need only theevaporative type airconditioning units—they donot need the refrigerative type that is used inthe north—so it would be cheaper and Ibelieve we could cover a lot more schools thatare presently facing a serious problem. Wehave seen examples in the past of problemsat schools such as Goondiwindi. I believe thatit is a good example.

There is a similar need in St George. I amtalking to people out there now. They are reallyconcerned. They are at the stage at whichthey are even talking about protesting. Theyare people who normally do not protest. Weare at a stage at which frustration is runningvery, very high, and I do not blame them. I amnot the sort of person who wishes toencourage people to protest, but there has tobe some recognition that we have hadenough. We are going to draw a line in the

sand and say, "Enough is enough. We doneed to have airconditioning for our kids if wewant them to improve." I am sure that thesame could be said for most students in thoserural and remote areas.

I have another case that I need to talkabout, and it relates to school guidanceofficers. There are four of them in the westernregion centred on Roma. In the past, two wereoperating in Roma and two were operating inthe Charleville area. However, the Charlevilleregion has been cut back to one. It is justimpossible for that one guidance officer totravel from, in this particular case, Tambo inthe north to Augathella, Quilpie,Thargomindah, Cunnamulla, Wyandra,Charleville and Morven. That is a huge area.

We have been told by the departmentthat a slight adjustment has been made in theratio and that we are going to be okay. Thesimple fact of the matter is that one personjust cannot cover that area. At the end of theday, those students out there will once againbe denied a guidance officer to help themchoose a career. They need some help. Theyneed to be able to be told what is available sothat, like anybody else, they can make aninformed choice. So I call on the Minister totake some advice on the problems out there. Iwould like him to move quickly to assist us inthis matter.

I want to talk about another very seriousissue that relates not so much in my area butto north Queensland. It relates to the airservice provided to the Torres Strait and manyof the other remote communities in the north.Just recently, a company called Uzu Air wasgrounded by CASA, the Civil Aviation SafetyAuthority, because of a so-called breach ofsafety guidelines. I want to put on the recordjust exactly what happened up there. Theplane that crashed was an Islander flown by avery competent pilot. She had two and a halfthousand hours of flying experience. She wasa Grade 1 flying instructor, an instructor also inaerobatics and was obviously endorsed inmulti-engine operations. The aircraft had nooutstanding service warrants at all.Unfortunately, it did crash, resulting in the lossof life.

CASA went up there with a view of, Iguess, portraying that it was keeping the skiessafe. But the reality is that it has closed downthat operation. CASA said that they were notoperating legally, that because they weretaking paying passengers they were operatingan RPT service—a regular public transportservice—which was illegal. They had beentrying and trying for years to get some


resolution to this particular administrativechange that was made. In fact, I believe thatUzu Air wrote something like—I cannot thinkwhat it was—between four and eight letters toCASA and received only one reply in relationto the issue. Then suddenly they are stoppedfrom flying.

The reason that the Civil Aviation SafetyAuthority has said that the RPT service shouldnot operate is that the airstrips do not meetthe guidelines for an RPT service. They haveto be a certain length, a certain width, have acertain glide slope and so on. Unless theylower the sea or raise the islands, those islandairstrips will never ever meet those standards.Around the world the situation has beenresolved by issuing an air taxi licence. Thatenables those companies, whether they be amail service or whatever, to carry peoplearound at a reasonable rate instead of theirhaving to pay the full cost of a charter.

As a result of what has happened, thepeople in the area have been denied an airservice. I have a petition here that has beenput together by the residents of Darnley Island.They say—

"The recent action against the airoperators by CASA has restricted theoperators to conducting strict air charteroperations only, placing a ban on aircharter operators selling seats or freightspace on existing charter flights. This hascaused the cost of travel in the TorresStrait to escalate out of reach of most ofour people. As CASA's action is not safetyrelated and purely an administrativelicensing issue we are therefore askingthat the necessary legislation be changedto allow air charter operators to continueservicing the Torres Strait on a sharecharter basis to allow the frequent andaffordable air services that we haveenjoyed in the past to continue.

Frequent air travel is imperative tothe continuation of all aspects of living inthe Torres Strait."

People are putting petitions together.Meanwhile, it just seems to be dragging on.CASA is trying to break this company, like ithas broken others, to try to show that it iskeeping the skies safe, and it is doing nothingat all of the sort. The infringements it talksabout are administrative, are very minor andhave no bearing on safety. I call on theFederal and State Ministers for Transport tostrongly back a move to get those planesflying again.

Mr Bredhauer: You are about a monthtoo late.

Mr HOBBS: I do not know about that. Ithink the Minister is the one who is a monthtoo late.

Mr Bredhauer: I spoke to John Andersontwo months ago and he has not even givenme the courtesy of a reply.

Mr HOBBS: I do not know whether theMinister wrote to John Anderson or not, but Ibelieve we should have had strongerrepresentation from him. He is the localmember. I believe we need to hit this issuehard. We can do it jointly. I think the realenemy here is CASA. I believe it is the realproblem. It is not the Minister. I believe weneed to get CASA to change its guidelinesquickly.

A growing industry in my area is goats. Asmany people would know, the Charlevilleabattoir is up and running and going well, butthat has led to an increase in the number ofpeople raising goats in the region. Theproblem we have had is with stealing. Thelegislation urgently needs to be changed,simply because the goats are classified asferal and therefore under the Act have to betamed or controlled in some form. Peopleneed to know that if they rear or run thesegoats they need to earmark them or evenfirebrand on the horn. Legislation urgentlyneeds to be brought into this House to changethe terminology from "feral stock" to "stock" sothat we do not have any grey areas in relationto whether stock is owned or feral.

Very soon there will be an electoralredistribution. Obviously those largeelectorates in the west will get bigger. Wepresently have two Federal membersoperating in the region from the Gulf ofCarpentaria to the New South Wales borderand around to Warwick. It is just impossible forthose people to give adequate representation,to the level that any person in any other part ofthe State would expect.

Changes are also taking place in localgovernment. A lot of the rural areas are notrepresented on councils. This is no reflectionon the councillors concerned. I will give anexample. In the Murweh Shire there is reallyonly one rural land-holder representative wholives on the land in the shire. There are otherexamples. In various areas, particularly in thehinterland of the Sunshine Coast, people aresaying that they are not getting representation.There is a need to look at that to ensure thatwhen we draw boundaries and put legislationtogether we take into consideration thateverybody should get equal representation. Ifthey do not, eventually the problem will comeback and bite.


Another issue I raise is tree clearing.Queensland put in place the first scientificallybased tree-clearing guidelines in Australia. Ibelieve that those guidelines were put in placein good spirit, with a lot of cooperation and alot of work from people around the State. Weneed to ensure that they are not tightened anymore to make it more difficult. In fact, I believethere is room in some cases for slightadjustments.

The other issue is tree clearing onfreehold land. It has to be recognised by thisGovernment that people who have boughtsomething, whether it be a licence orwhatever, have invested a huge amount ofmoney. Therefore, any Government thatcomes in and denies the use of a naturalresource has to pay compensation. Peoplewho lease land pay for the lease, but if theythen freehold they pay again. What are theybuying? They are actually buying the title andthe trees, and they are theirs to use. Ifsomebody comes along and says, "You can'tuse them", they should be putting their moneyup.

The same situation applies in relation towater. The water allocation management plansare being developed throughout Queenslandat the moment. In many cases, those whohave bought licences have bid a lot of moneyat auction to buy that water. They have put alot of money into infrastructure—ring tanks,pumps and agricultural equipment. If anychange is made, they have to be paidcompensation. I make it quite clear to theGovernment that denying people's licences, bychanging the threshold levels for instance, hasan impact on those people's livelihoods. Thebank manager wants to know about it as well.If the licensee cannot pump water from acertain level, if somebody moves the goalposts, the banks want to know about it. Thereis a financial impact on them as well.

Race clubs in my area are concernedbecause of the procrastination of the StateLabor Government in relation to theprivatisation of the TAB. The funding that waspromised to them has not come. They havehad to try to work out their dates. They do notknow what prize money to allocate. There is afair bit of confusion. I do not think theGovernment realises how serious it is. Recentlythe St George race club had a downpour. Itlost about 600 metres of track. Of course, ithad to be the finishing post area that wasdamaged. That race club desperately needssome funds to help put things together. All theuncertainty is making things difficult. I have justsent a memo to the Minister, asking him whathe can do. I certainly hope he can help. This is

a genuine effort to keep racing going duringthis uncertain time. There probably will besome other areas that also need help. Racingin those rural areas is very important.

The reduction in the number of electricityauthorities from five to one will see a change inthe level of representation. The experiencedrepresentatives on those boards at themoment will be replaced with advisory boards.The advisory boards are a waste of time. TheGovernment has tried this in the area of healthand it did not really work. These bodies haveto have some teeth. The Government isputting out people who have an extremelywide range of talents andexperience—Councillor Graham Andrews,David Alexander, Bill Copeland, CouncillorDaryl McDonald, Councillor Rod Gilmore,Douglas Hartlands and Colin Smith. Thosepeople have a wealth of experience and theyare gone. I do not believe we should beallowing that to happen.

Time expired.

Hon. S. D. BREDHAUER (Cook—ALP)(Minister for Transport and Minister for MainRoads) (5.20 p.m.): Yesterday, Monday, 1March 1999, the 50 km/h local speed limit wasintroduced in south-east Queensland, markingone of the most important road safetydevelopments in recent years. The new limit isbeing introduced to save lives and reducecrashes.

The 50 km/h local speed limit will apply inthe local governments of Brisbane City,Caboolture Shire, Caloundra City, Gold CoastCity, Ipswich City, Logan City, Maroochy Shire,Noosa Shire, Pine Rivers Shire, Redcliffe Cityand Redland Shire. The 50 km/h local limit willapply to most local streets in south-eastQueensland. Local streets are those which areused mainly to access homes and privateproperty and carry only neighbourhood traffic.The 50 km/h local streets will not have speedlimit signs, but all roads with a speed limit of60 km/h or above will be clearly signed. Some50 km/h signs will be seen on roads in areassuch as shopping and commercial precinctswhere a 50 km/h speed limit is appropriate dueto the high risk of pedestrian, cyclist andvehicle conflict.

The 50 km/h local limit will apply in thesame way as the current built-up area speedlimit of 60 km/h, which means motorists mustdrive no faster than 50 km/h in built-up areasunless they have seen a speed limit signstating otherwise. Motorists entering south-east Queensland will be notified of the50 km/h limit by perimeter signs, whilereminder signs in specific locations throughout


south-east Queensland will reinforce thismessage.

The 50 km/h limit is the second stage ofthe State Government's Speed ManagementStrategy. Stage 1 included the introduction ofspeed cameras to State Government-controlled roads on 1 May 1997. The 50 km/hlocal speed limit is the result of a number ofyears of research, planning and developmentand has been a cooperative effort betweenQueensland Transport, Queensland police,local governments, Main Roads, RACQ, otherkey stakeholders and the community.

The reason for introducing a 50 km/h locallimit is clear: 50 km/h is a more appropriatespeed for local streets. Local streets are achallenging environment, with the unexpectedmovements of other road users. Local streetscan be a volatile mix of the unexpected andshort reaction times as drivers often have arestricted view. In terms of stopping distance,every single kilometre per hour can affectwhether a crash happens and, if so, howsevere it might be. A car travelling at 60 km/hstops some additional 12 to 16 metres after acar braking from 50 km/h. With 30% of allcrashes and 25% of all fatalities occurring onlocal streets, it is vital we address road safetyin these areas.

While the human cost of speeding is high,it is also expensive. Crashes on local streetscost up to $150m in south-east Queenslandeach year in hospital and health-care costs,lost productivity in the workplace and the useof emergency services. In terms of how wecompare internationally, Australia's urbanspeed limit of 60 km/h is high compared tothat of most other developed countries.International experience has shown a reducedlocal limit cuts the number and severity ofcrashes.

A $1.75m public education campaign isbeing implemented to explain why the limit isbeing introduced and what motorists need todo to obey the limit. As part of that campaign,a 50 km/h local speed limit brochure has beendelivered to all households in south-eastQueensland. The brochure explains how thenew limit will work in detail and features a mapdisplaying all roads which have a speed limit of60 km/h or above in the Brisbane/Ipswich,Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast areas.

The 50 km/h local limit will be primarilyenforced by Queensland Police Service LaserInfra-red Detection and Ranging devices, orLIDAR, and conventional radar. To allowmotorists to adjust to the new limit, anamnesty applies until 1 June. Motorists foundexceeding the speed limit in 50 km/h speed

zones—unsigned or signed—to a minordegree will be warned and issued with abrochure explaining the 50 km/h initiative. Allother roads, which will be signed at 40 km/h,60 km/h, 70 km/h or above, will not have anamnesty. The amnesty will not be allowed tobecome a free-for-all for motorists who speedexcessively or drive recklessly. Motoriststravelling at a dangerous or excessive speedwill continue to be prosecuted.

Any motorist can be picked up. EvenMinisters can be picked up, as the formerTreasurer has found. Even the Minister forTransport can be picked up for speeding. Themessage is that, with the amount of policeenforcement detection devices that are outthere, if people speed it is not a matter of if itwill happen but when. The message is not justto get the motorists to pay the fine but to slowdown, and that has certainly happened.

The new speed limit is a major road safetystep for Queensland. Over the past few years,motorists in this State have demonstrated theirdetermination to reduce the road toll. Since itsannouncement late last year, the 50 km/hlocal speed limit has received support frommotorists who are willing to slow down toprevent crashes. Now the new limit has beenintroduced, I am confident the number ofcrashes on local streets will reduce, while localcommunities will become more pleasant areasin which to live.

When we came to Government, theGovernment's first priority was determined asjobs and job security, and it continues to bethat way. This Government is delivering on thiscommitment, especially in our relationship withQueensland Rail. When this Government waselected, one of its commitments in relation toQueensland Rail was to reduce the use offixed-term employment contracts inQueensland Rail where it was moreappropriate to grant permanent employment.Under the last Government, approximately1,300 Queensland Rail positions had beenallowed to become fixed-term positions. Thiswas more than was necessary and contributedto a climate of job insecurity. In the first sixmonths of this Government, 582 fixed-termemployees in Queensland Rail were convertedto permanent employment.

Fixed-term employment has a place inQueensland Rail if used appropriately, but itshould not be used as a substitute for secure,permanent employment. Before Christmas, myoffice initiated further discussions between railunions and Queensland Rail managementregarding the conversion of further fixed-termemployees to permanent employment. Last


Friday, 26 February 1999, an in-principleagreement was reached which will seeapproximately a further 150 fixed-termemployees made permanent. Under thisagreement, Queensland Rail has given acommitment to limit the use of fixed-termemployees to legitimate temporary situationsand only in situations where permanentemployment is not consistent with businessneeds. Queensland Rail will declare fixed-termpositions permanent where the work can beprojected as being a permanent need and hasundertaken to continue to ensure the integrityof fixed-term employment practices bymonitoring its use within work units.

Rail unions have agreed to take a numberof key changes to the previous principles offixed-term employment to their membership forconsideration. These include a maximumperiod of fixed-term employment of two years,with permanency available if either thepurpose of the fixed-term position is plannedto extend for more than two years or if theactual engagement of a worker extendsbeyond two years. These agreements are nowsubject to discussion between rail unions andtheir members.

As I said, the new arrangements will resultin approximately 150 existing fixed-termworkers being given permanent employment inQueensland Rail. The agreements furtherentrench progress toward this Government's5% jobs target. The ACTU and rail unionsagree that it will deliver in full thisGovernment's commitment to Queensland Railemployees to convert as many fixed-termemployees to permanent employment aspossible.

But members of the House should notjust take my word for it. They should take itfrom a Queensland Rail employee who wroteto me on 8 January 1999. The letter is from achap by the name of Julian Morgans, whostates—

"As a one time 'fixed term employee'of Queensland Rail, I would like to thankyou (and your Government) for yourefforts in having as many as possible ofthese positions made into permanentones. I have been advised by QR that myposition at Pring Locomotive Depot hasnow been made permanent. You andyour Government's position of employingapprentices and reducing excessiveovertime within QR to encourage moreemployment is to be congratulated.

Having a secure job is the bestChristmas present that my family and

myself could have received. Manythanks."

To Julian, to all those people in QR and to allQueenslanders out there, this Government'scommitment to jobs and jobs security willcontinue unabated throughout the term of theGovernment.

Mr VEIVERS (Southport—NPA)(5.28 p.m.): Firstly, I pledge my allegiance toHer Majesty, through His Excellency theGovernor, Peter Arnison. Let me saystraightaway that I want to thank the people inthe electorate of Southport for the confidencethat they once again have placed in me for myfifth term.

Mr Foley interjected.

Mr VEIVERS: I want to tell theHonourable Attorney that I know and he knowsthat mine is a 54% to 57% Labor electorate.You blokes have been trying to win it forthe——

Mr Mickel: We will get it next time.Mr VEIVERS: I think I will be old and

gummy by the time they nail me, but still I takeno chances and try not to take any prisoners.It is a wonderful electorate. It is a workingman's electorate. It is a pleasure to representthe people there.

Mr Roberts: It's like Nudgee.

Mr VEIVERS: Yes, it is just like Nudgee.Of course, every now and the there is a goodMinister in Government—even when you are inOpposition—who gives you something, likethat terrific track at Nudgee. It is not turf; it issynthetic. It is going well, is it? I am told thatthe birds fly into it occasionally; is that correct?

Mr Roberts: No, that is not correct.

Mr VEIVERS: That is good. Thank Godfor that, because that would be another minus.I am glad to hear the member for Nudgee saythat.

I must thank my hardworking volunteers,who continue to support me all through theyear every year. I thank my electorate councilchairman, Graham Cash. He is a good blokewith lots of worries. He seems to put up withme. We get on just fine. I get a few lecturesfrom him from time to time. They are prettystrong lectures at times; however, we get by. Ialso thank the secretary of my electoratecouncil, Garth Keppie, who is a really switched-on man about town. He is really into theoverseas tourism business. He is doing verywell with his college, which teaches Japaneseand Chinese languages.

I thank my campaign manager, Mrs FayHinze, and her band of willing workers for


always coming along and doing the right thing.She has supported and run the campaigns forme on the last three occasions. That isprobably one of the reasons I am reasonablysuccessful. It has nothing to do with me; it haseverything to do with Fay Hinze. No matterwhich side of the political fence one is on, onemust recognise that she is a veryknowledgeable woman. She has been throughthe school of hard knocks. She has guided methrough my campaign so that we dodged afew pitfalls, even though the Labor candidatehad other ideas.

I thank John Dixon. He did and still does afine job. I think I would be remiss if I did notthank my electorate secretary, Barbara Talty. Ithink all members realise that when we are outof the office—whether one is a Minister or justa member of Parliament—our electoratesecretaries are us when we are not there. Ifthey make a boo-boo, say the wrong thing orgive a wrong explanation or advice, themember has to wear it. An electorate secretaryis most important. I have a beauty in Ms Talty.She works above and beyond the call of duty.She does a great job. I mention Henry Lack,who has been with me now for 10 years offand on, mostly off. It is pretty hard to keep upwith Henry. He is one of those characters thatone runs into in life.

I am glad that a Liberal colleague is in theHouse. I thank the Liberal Party for its supportand for telling, in advertisements, that I wasalso their candidate for the seat of Southport.My thanks go to Geoff Johnson, the presidentof the Liberal Party on the Gold Coast, for hismagnificent support and that of the LiberalParty. As members know, in three-corneredcontests we used to be belting each otheraround a little bit. The Liberal Party has gotbehind me. I have to say that I was the firstcandidate to have the National Party logo inone corner and the Liberal Party blue logo inthe other corner. I hope I carried the bannerfor the Liberal Party in the manner to whichthey were accustomed and in the manner theywished I would carry it.

I thank the former president, John Mason,who started that trend. We have worked prettyclosely together down there. In the presenceof all members I have to say that it has notalways been rosy between the National Partyand the Liberal Party. I remember Russ Hinzegetting elected on Labor preferences when afellow called Bruce Bishop was running. It isgood to see that I have been able to settlethings down and receive the support of allpeople from our side. There is not any doubtthat we need it.

Finally, but not least, I want to say manythanks to my wife, Betty, and my son, David,who have taken the brunt of the telephonecalls at home when I am not home. They,particularly my son, have had to put up withthe jibes relating to my work when I wasMinister for Sport and Emergency Services.Our families really are important to us. Theytake some nasty calls. They are not themember but, because of loyalty, the family—ifmy wife is not there, it is my son—has to takethe call. Because they know it is so important,they take the calls, whether they are bad,good or indifferent. On many occasions, theyhave had to put up with what I will describe asa lot of rot. It is not always pleasant forfamilies. I think everyone in this House knowswhat I am talking about.

While gloom and doom still abounds, withmany people continuing to worry about theramifications of the Asian economic meltdown,I can report with confidence that things aredefinitely looking bright in my electorate ofSouthport in particular and on the Gold Coastin general. Not everywhere is sweet, but in thearea of Southport, during the last 27 monthswhen my coalition Government was in power,we achieved things that were only pipedreamsin the time before we came to office. Hopefullythis momentum will continue, despite theefforts of those who would attempt tosabotage it. I am not saying that those peoplesit on the opposite side of the House.However, there are some people who just donot want it to happen; they want it to happensomewhere else. Our list of achievements isan impressive one.

The reasons for our success include thecooperation of the local government, in thiscase the Gold Coast City Council and MayorGary Baildon and Ray Stevens, the formermayor, and my local councillor, Dawn Crichlow,who is very friendly—and I am friendly withDawn. There is no doubt that I will look allmembers in the eye and say that I amdefinitely not going to get her offside, becauseI have seen a few people try to take the stingout of her and I have not seen anyone get thebetter of her. I am not going to try. She lovesSouthport and thinks it is the best thing sincesliced bread. So do I. We are a team. She isthe pretty one and I am the ugly one, and weget on just fine. We have also had thecooperation of the council officers, all of whomwork tirelessly toward our goals. Thanks to thatspirit of cooperation, we have managed to putin place a number of world-standard sportingfacilities that have already returned hugedividends to Southport, the Gold Coast and,indeed, to Queensland and Australia.


Mr Mickel interjected.

Mr VEIVERS: It is that good. Themember for Logan is getting a $70m milkfactory in his electorate, but we have otherfacilities on the Gold Coast.

I remember when I was the Minister forSport. I flew off to encourage the Olympicsteams to come to Queensland. Boy, didn't Icop a bucket from members opposite! "This isanother jaunt," they said. I have never workedso hard. As a result, at the last count, 17 ofthe major Olympic nations are coming to pre-train here in Queensland. According to Labor'sfigures, to the economy of Queensland thatwill be worth something in the vicinity of $80mto $100m. Those are not my figures; those arethe figures that the Premier is now using. He isthe bloke who said that I would not getanyone, that it was hopeless and that I wasgoing on a jaunt that was an absolute waste oftime. A press release put out on his behalfstated that all the ticketing and so on would bedone somewhere in Sydney. I do not knowwhether it was Campbelltown or somewherearound there. The press release said that theywould all be put through the wringer downthere and given their identification there andthat no-one would be coming to Queensland.That was not the best press release that hadever been put out. I do not know if the currentPremier had a lot to do with it, but it was notreally too successful and it was not verytruthful. I was able to come back and say, nottwo to the Valley, but "Have a look at this;these are the achievements."

I know that members opposite will have alook at the report. I think it would be worthwhile if they went back into the archives andlooked at the report that I did on my trip overthere and who I saw. At the time, I did not tellmembers opposite that I was the only foreignpolitician to be invited to address the UnitedStates Olympic Committee and the UnitedStates Olympic Congress. I did not tell verymany people about that, but that is where thesuccess started and it has continued sincethen. The American track and field team will betraining in the member's electorate. They willbring money into the electorate—they will bestaying there—and the member is going to getall the benefits. I told him that I helped him toget re-elected at the last election by puttingthat track in his electorate. When the 2000Olympics come, the member will be out thereshaking hands with all of these flyers andathletes. It will probably help him get electedagain.

Mr Mickel: The Baywatch girls, too.

Mr VEIVERS: I will get to that. Thesefacilities that I want to talk about have becomemagnets for many of these overseas teamswho have committed themselves, as I havesaid, to making the Gold Coast their trainingbase in the lead-up to the Sydney 2000Olympics. We have to remember that it is onlya 38-minute flight from Brisbane to Sydney.Hopefully, those teams will be organised sothat they take that flight, then take a bus tothe Olympics. Let us face it: tourists can do thesame. They can stay up here—in the bestState in Australia—where it is a bit cheaperand away from the hustle and bustle, and theycan fly down to the Olympics. I think we allagree that they can do that. Let us hope thatthey do it.

As the Minister for Sport in the previouscoalition Government, it is with some justifiablepride that I can see the tangible evidence ofthe hard work and cooperation that we havehad from everybody. We now have amagnificent, world-standard athletics track atthe Gold Coast campus of the GriffithUniversity. I know that we also put one in atNudgee, and one at the university at St Lucia.All of those tracks are magnificent. They areworking. When the coalition came to power,when one crossed the Brisbane River the nexttartan track was in Townsville. That was notgood, but successive Governments all ignoredsport.

Mr Reynolds: The Townsville one hasbeen there for 15 years.

Mr VEIVERS: I know it has. I am sayingthat it was there but we needed more. That issimply it in a nutshell. As I have said already,these tracks will be used by a great number ofcompetitors in the lead-up to the Games.However, our youth and our athletes will beusing these tracks over the years to come.

The facility at the Gold Coast was a greatexample of cooperation between the thencoalition Government, the city council and theGriffith University Students Guild. While talkingabout the university students' guild, I could getinto the debate about what is happening withstudent unions throughout Australia. Quitefrankly, I am going to say that I am one whocannot see why we should be abolishing them.I think that they do a great job. That is myview, and a few members on this side of theHouse think the same thing. I want to makespecial mention of the guild's chief executiveofficer on the Gold Coast, Teena Morrow. Incommon with the ones in Rockhampton and innorth Queensland, the members of that guilddo a great job. They have worked tirelessly tobring that track and other buildings to the


university. That Gold Coast campus is justgrowing—like the many others around,including the one at Logan—like a mushroom.I think that these youngsters get in there anddo a great job. I just hope that the presentthinking in Canberra changes. I have been toldthe reason why they want to abolish thoseunions. However, quite frankly, looking at itwith an open mind, I cannot see anyjustification for their argument.

Long after the Sydney Olympics are but amemory these tracks, particularly the one onthe Gold Coast, will continue to be used byother local budding athletes and, hopefully,future gold medallists. I must mention also thatthe coalition put in an Olympic-standardhockey field at Hunt Park. That is anotherfacility that is a monument to the formercoalition Government, to the council and, Isuppose, to me as the then Minister for Sport.I must say that I am hoping that we will beable to put another track on the Gold Coast,because we are getting tremendous use out ofthe present one. Although the Gold Coast isthe sixth-largest city in Australia, we did nothave a track down there and the youngsters inthat area used to have to travel to Brisbane orto Toowoomba. Although there is a track innorth Queensland, such tracks were as scarceat hen's teeth. I hope that one day shortly wewill be able to have a second track there sothat the youngsters from the majorschools—all of them—get a chance to playtheir sport, because it is a growing sport thatmost youngsters are interested in. It is a world-standard field and it has already attractedcompetitors from far and wide, bringing with itthe sort of financial benefits that this kind ofsporting activity generates.

Although it is outside my electorate—andI know that the member for Nerang, MrConnor, will not mind me mentioning it—theNerang cycling track is yet another facility thatwas upgraded as a result of work carried outby the council and the Department of Sportwhen I was the responsible Minister. Thecurrent Minister for Sport could not attend itsopening, so Merri Rose went along andopened it. I have to say that I was invitedalong but I was not mentioned at theopening—not by the Minister, anyhow.Anyway, one gets over these things. There isnothing more ex than an ex-Minister. One getsto learn these things very quickly in life.

Mr Mickel: Don't get maudlin; you weredoing well.

Mr VEIVERS: No, I was just mentioning it.I ask the Honourable Matt Foley whether thatis right. He is like flour: he has been through

the mill. However, like Lazarus, he hasresurrected himself. He has come back biggerand better, although I do not fancy the tiesthat he wears!

Mr Mickel: I would have put you on thefront bench, Mick.

Mr VEIVERS: Let us not get nasty. Let usget back to my electorate. The swimming poolwill be going in at Southport, and it will have adiving tower. It is well on its way to becominganother Olympic standard venue that will beused for pre-training, and it will have the tower.They were not going to put in the tower.However, when the pool is completed, it will beappreciated not only by competitive swimmersbut also by the public at large.

From a business perspective, Southport ison track to reinforce its position as the centralbusiness district of the Gold Coast. It is comingback! The revamping of the Southport Mall atthe eastern end of Nerang Street has openedup new opportunities. Business people anddevelopers are viewing this area in a new light.I can tell members that the response has beenvery positive indeed.

During the coalition's term of Government,the new law courts were constructed andassociated facilities were upgraded and thencompleted. They were needed desperatelyand gave that part of Southport where theyare located a badly needed upgrading bothaesthetically and in the provision of services.

The social clubs in the Southport areahave played their part in providing vastlyimproved facilities for the local people throughtheir charter of ploughing profits back into thecommunity. The Southport RSL is oneexample. It has also grown like a mushroom.

Mr Sullivan: You have helped generatesome profits, too, haven't you?

Mr VEIVERS: Absolutely, and I can tellhonourable members that I have not takenany off the top, either. I am pleased to do that,because that is what we are all here for: weare here to serve the people who elect us andmake things happen so that our areas are abetter place in which to live.

The Southport Sharks Australian FootballClub, under the capable stewardship of MrPaul Wyatt, is another club that has grown. Itis really a magnificent facility. Quite frankly, Ican say here and now that one day it willprobably host a major Australian Rules—and Iam talking about the AFL—team in thecompetition. That is a little way down the track,but that club would be capable of doing justthat. It is in an ideal situation and location todo just that. Let us not forget the Southport


Workers Club, of which I am a member. It is inthe throes of an expansion program that willprovide another first-class entertainment andrecreation venue for the local community. All ofthose places put on good, cheap meals. Theentertainment is not cheap; it is really brilliant.There are performances from first-classacts—in fact, world-class acts—but people arenot charged——

Mr Mickel: Jobs for Australians, that'swhat it's all about.

Mr VEIVERS: I agree with the member onthat. It is creating jobs for Australia. It is alsogiving an opportunity——

Time expired.

Dr KINGSTON (Maryborough—IND)(5.50 p.m.): Through you, Madam DeputySpeaker, I would like to thank the Governor forhis kind words when he opened thisParliament. May we live up to his expectations.

I take this opportunity to talk aboutMaryborough—the multi-skilled electorate. Myelectorate, based on the City of Maryborough,is a skilled and diversified community. Thestrength of the City of Maryborough is thevariety of specialised engineering works andtheir skilled staff. Members will be aware ofWalkers and Adtrans and the tilt train and theirsuccess in this country and overseas. I thankthe Government for its continuing support forthese two companies. Please keep it up.

I am delighted to announce that we haveadded three more specialised industries to ourportfolio: firstly, the designer and builder ofoceangoing multi-hulled yachts made of a verylight material; secondly, a renovated slipwaynow servicing a steadily increasing number ofeast coast and gulf trawlers—increasingbecause all the skills needed are withinMaryborough; and thirdly, our latest addition, aceramic pot manufacturer who has alreadysecured impressive contracts.

Forestry and sawmilling are vital to oureconomy. As the Deputy Premier personallywitnessed last week, Hynes and others areaggressively addressing the changes withintheir industry. But our timber industrydesperately needs resolution of the regionalforestry agreement and clear signals andencouragement from all levels of government.

The sugar industry is the biggestemployer in the Maryborough electorate. TheMaryborough sugar factory has expandedproduction area, irrigated area, the use ofsewage effluent and is now upgrading millcapacity. It is very disappointing that theprolonged negotiations to convert an area ofgood agricultural land currently under

plantation pine to irrigated cane land havefinally collapsed. I look forward to the timewhen environmental and land use issues canbe debated and resolved in a factual, scientificand responsible manner.

Despite our diversity and skills, theMaryborough electorate is suffering. Therecent NIEIR report—"The state of theregions"—recorded that the Wide Bay/Burnettregion has been identified as having amongstthe highest unemployment and the lowesthousehold incomes. If this Government is toachieve the admirable objective of 5%unemployment, Wide Bay, and thus theMaryborough electorate, is a key area forpositive action. According to DEWRSB figures,in March 1998 there were 1,795 unemployedin the local Government area of Maryborough,336 in Tiaro, 218 in Woocoo and 3,784 inneighbouring Hervey Bay.

But the Maryborough community decidedthat such unemployment is unacceptable. Thelocal newspaper and CHR office combined.Their aim was to create $1m worth of jobs.Their awareness campaign created jobs worth$3.8m.

Maryborough has just hosted the meetingof 21 Wide Bay/Burnett mayors under theleadership of Bill Trevor. Our communities areprepared to work together and to build fromwithin rather than sit on our hands and wait forGovernment handouts. Having said that, Iwant to identify that the Maryborough counciland the thinking community, with the supportof the Hervey Bay, Tiaro and Woocoo councils,have been working hard to convince theCorrective Services Department that we havethe best site for the 900-bed prison currentlyunder consideration. The economic boostresulting from the siting of the prison in theMaryborough vicinity will give the Maryboroughelectorate the economic kick-start and theconfidence boost currently so badly needed. Icommend this fact to the Ministers concerned.Help us to help ourselves. Thank you.

Miss SIMPSON (Maroochydore—NPA)(5.54 p.m.): As a constitutional monarchist witha healthy distrust of Labor lawyers who want totake away the checks and balances in ourcurrent Australian Constitution, I would like toreaffirm my parliamentary oath in regard to myloyalty to the Australian Queen and also to ourstable system of government.

I would like to address some issues in myown electorate. Firstly, I want to praise thecommunity around the North Arm area inregard to the new school oval that they havemanaged to build with considerable voluntaryassistance in the way of engineering,

2 Mar 1999 Gordonstone Mine Dispute; Member for Fitzroy 77

surveying and earthmoving. I would like to puton the parliamentary record my thanks to MrNoel Covey and his business for their help incoordinating this voluntary project. Quite ateam of people was involved in making thispossible. We must realise that some of theseschools have only a couple of hundredstudents. In this case the school involved didnot even have a township from which to seekbusiness sponsorship. Under thosecircumstances it is difficult to do things, but thisis a great school. The people worked hard andsupported each other well. It is such a delightto see members of the community comeforward and make such things possible. It wasa great effort.

I would also like to put on theparliamentary record that we need a greaterappreciation of eco-tourism on the SunshineCoast. I will be pursuing further how we candevelop a quality network of walking tracks tosuch a standard as that of the famous MilfordTrack in New Zealand. Obviously the area ofthe Milford Track is extremely beautiful, but Ibelieve that on the Sunshine Coast we haveoutstanding natural features that could bebetter marketed to Australia and the world.

Our hiking tracks on the Sunshine Coastare not as well known to the public but theyare quite beautiful. We can do so much morein the way of marketing these hiking tracks andallowing people to get into the great outdoors.In this way people will be able to appreciatethe jewels that we have on our doorstep.There has been a lot of talk about developingtracks from Noosa south. I believe that weneed to link the hinterland to the coast. Weneed to link the range with Maroochydore andother coastal centres. We have magnificentforestry areas that bridge the gap betweensome of these townships. We need to workhard to bring this to the notice of the widercommunity. People need to be encouraged toget outside their four walls and get back intothe great outdoors. Hopefully they will visit theSunshine Coast, spend their money along theway, and tell people from overseas what agreat area we have.

Another important issue in my area isroads. Being in one of the fastest growingareas in Australia, we have challenges ofgrowth. I am concerned that we have a veryflood-prone major arterial road betweenNambour and Maroochydore. Whenever wehave the slightest flood this road is cut andpeople have to take quite circuitous alternativeroutes to get to the Nambour Hospital. Clearlythis is unacceptable. We need a flood-freearterial network on the Sunshine Coast to dealwith major emergencies. We do not even have

an adequate road network to deal with minorflooding.

Maroochydore Road from the industrialarea west between Kunda Park and the BruceHighway must be upgraded. The current timeframe is not acceptable. It must be fast-tracked. I will continue to pursue this matterwith the Government because roads are notonly our business lifeline but they are also oursocial lifeline. We have a major hospital inNambour but the growth centres are on thecoast and we do not have adequate linkagebetween them. It is imperative that action istaken very quickly to address this matter.

I would also like to address the ongoingissue of the public transit corridor feasibilitystudy, otherwise known as CAMCOS, whichhas gone on for far too long under theprevious Government and under thisGovernment. A lot of money has been paid toconsultants but the people have not beenconsulted. It has gone off track and it hasfocused mainly on heavy rail. If it was a truefeasibility study it would be looking at all publictransit options including busways. I have apersonal preference for busways but I believethat this feasibility study was always meant toinvestigate all public transit options. That hasnot happened. Heavy rail will never be viable ifit simply carries passengers; it will have to relyon freight. People are terrified that they willhave heavy rail coming through their houses orpast their back doors. I believe there are farmore environmentally friendly options which aproper feasibility study should take intoaccount.

Debate, on motion of Miss Simpson,adjourned.

SCRUTINY OF LEGISLATION COMMITTEEReport

Mrs LAVARCH (Kurwongbah—ALP)(5.59 p.m.): I lay upon the table of the Housethe Scrutiny of Legislation Committee's AlertDigest No. 1 of 1999, and move that it beprinted.

Ordered to be printed.

GORDONSTONE MINE DISPUTE; MEMBERFOR FITZROY

Hon. R. E. BORBIDGE (SurfersParadise—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition)(6 p.m.): I move—

"That this House, noting with concernthe impact on jobs and businessconfidence of the Gordonstone dispute,calls on the Premier to—

78 Gordonstone Mine Dispute; Member for Fitzroy 2 Mar 1999

dissociate himself and theGovernment from the continuingunlawful activities of certain of thepicketers at the Gordonstone mine;condemn the actions of CFMEUorganised protesters who haveprevented the peaceable passage ofworkers at the mine to and from theirhomes;discipline the Member for Fitzroy overhis public comments that he standsby his decision to break the law; and

calls for the immediate abandonmentof the CFMEU picket line atGordonstone and for all parties to thedispute to argue their case beforethe Federal Court when the matter isheard next month."

The mining industry generates moreexport dollars for this State than does anyother. It is not only a major employer in its ownright; it supports jobs in a great variety ofsectors right across the State. In fact, it is sucha central element of the State's economy thatthe multiplier effect is difficult to quantify. It isan industry that is now under enormouspressure, and that is particularly the case inrespect of coal. What were very optimisticprojections just a couple of years ago fordemand in Asia for both coking and steamingproduct have taken a battering.

Of course, parallel with those marketproblems we have seen the emergence ofvery strong competitors with much lower costs,particularly in Africa and Indonesia. Forexample, coal contracts signed with Japan'sleading users have seen reductions in prices of18% for coking product and 13% for thermalcoal. The only option our miners have is toincrease their productivity to increase thecompetitiveness of their product. That is whatthis debate essentially is all about. It is aboutkeeping mines open, workers employed andAustralian industries competitive. That is whythe Opposition views with such enormousconcern the developments in Gordonstoneand, indeed, the developments in theParliament today.

The boardrooms of the world are watchingthe Queensland Government. What they sawtoday was not a pretty picture. What they sawtoday was an admission from this Governmentthat "If you don't like the law, you break it"—anadmission from this Government that it is okayto stop law-abiding Queenslanders going towork and back to their families. What we sawtoday was a total abrogation of responsibility tothe wider electorate of Queensland and a totalsubservience to the trade union movement

and in particular the CFMEU, to the point atwhich even the industrial relations legislation ofthis State will be changed to accommodatethe whims of the union bosses and the tacticsof the union thugs that we have seen atGordonstone in recent times.

We know that Rio Tinto is a company thatin terms of its work practices opts for workcontracts. We know that Rio Tinto is the parentcompany of Queensland Coal at Gordonstone,and we know of its association with PacificCoal. We also know that we have anenormous opportunity in this State that hasbeen fostered by conservative and, up untiltoday, Labor Governments, namely, theopportunity to deliver to Queensland ahead ofMalaysia, probably to Gladstone, the biggestprivate sector infrastructure project in thehistory of Australia after the North West shelf.

We know that the Premier met Rio Tintoin London on the day following theperformance of the member for Fitzroy atGordonstone. I guess any real leader wouldhave dissociated himself from lawbreakers—from people who break the law andseek to intimidate others. What did we hear inhere today? We heard the Premier, theAttorney-General, the Minister for Educationand the Minister for Mines and Energy say thatit is okay to break the law. We heard the firstlaw officer of the Crown—the first law officer ofthe State of Queensland—saying that hesupports illegal action; that he supports peoplewho take action to prevent law-abidingQueensland workers going about their lawfulbusiness to and from work.

The situation is very simple. In respect ofthe sacked Gordonstone workers—those thatdid have a job and left a couple of yearsback—the world has passed them by. Indeed,the realists and pragmatists in the trade unionmovement have passed them by. Many ofthose former workers are now back atGordonstone. They are happy to be there;they want to work there and make acontribution to this State, their families andregional development. They are beingprevented from doing so by the likes of themember for Fitzroy.

I believe what we have seen is a definingmoment in the life of this can't do Governmentled by this can't do Premier. The only peoplehe can do anything for are his trade unionmates. The only people he can give a helpinghand to are the CFMEU. The only people he isprepared to support have been the likes of thehonourable member for Fitzroy. I would havethought that, in a society where we elect ourGovernments, where we take an oath of office


as members and, when we go into Cabinet, asMinisters of the Crown to uphold the law, in adispute such as Gordonstone the Premier andthe Government would have been siding withthe people who are abiding by the law.

Let us get one thing absolutely clear: thisis not a debate about the right to dissent. No-one on this side of the House argues withanyone who wants to protest, march up anddown with a few placards and put theirparticular point of view. However, this is aboutmore than that. This is about the law of theland. This is about the laws that we pass in thisplace, and which we have a sovereign duty todefend until such time as they are changed,being honoured and respected by the Premierand by his Government. What we saw todaywas a shameful admission by the Minister forJustice and Attorney-General as the first lawofficer of this State that "If you don't like thelaw in Queensland, it's okay to disobey it".Presumably if someone does not like thespeed limit and they are stopped by the policethey can say, "The Attorney-General says it'sall right. You can break the law in Queenslandif you don't agree with it." If one breaks the lawin Queensland, one is compared withMahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela. One is ahero. These are the standards that themember for Brisbane Central has delivered tothe public administration of the State ofQueensland.

Tonight we should be thinking of the widerpicture. We should be thinking of trying tosecure the $4 billion plus in major investmentin Queensland through Rio Tinto. We shouldbe thinking of the right to work whether one isa member of a union or not, under a contract ifone wants to and under freedom of choice inthis State and nation.

As a total capitulation to the trade unionmovement, we now see that the Minister forIndustrial Relations is going to bring inindustrial relations laws to end the conflict. Ofcourse, you do not have a conflict if you givein. You do not have a conflict if you roll over.You do not have a conflict if you say to thosepicketers at the gate, "Stop the buses. Stopthe workers going home to their wife and kids",when those families are being subjected to areasonable degree of intimidation by unionheavies.

So what we had was an opportunity forinvestment and jobs in Queensland but alsofor social justice. What has happened? ThisPremier and this Government have failed, andfailed miserably. The tragedy is that this sendsan absolutely horrendous message to the

people whom we need to be investing in thisState for the future of Queensland. As a resultof the sectional narrow-mindedness of theLabor Government in this State, we have seena recipe for a loss of jobs, projects, investmentand confidence in Queensland as a place forbusiness to come and to grow.

Mr SANTORO (Clayfield—LP) (6.10 p.m.):I am pleased to second the motion moved bythe Leader of the Opposition. The ongoingpicket of the Gordonstone mine by the CFMEUis a tragedy for all concerned. It is a watershedissue for Queensland and it is a watershedissue for the resource sector in this countryand in this State. It is not an industrial disputeat all. It is an attempt by a union to force on acompany which has purchased a moribundmine and wants to reopen it the work forcethat the union dictates and not necessarily thebest qualified people for the job. It is anoutrageous intervention by a union which isprepared to use force, standover tactics andun-Australian behaviour to try to get its way. Itis a situation that risks Australia's internationalreputation and could set back for many yearsfuture expansion of our minerals industry. It isa matter that requires high-level interventionand persuasion from the State Governmentbecause so much is at stake.

What we have seen instead is high-levelintervention of quite the wrong kind. We havethe Premier of the State, the head ofGovernment, making in this place today themost astonishing claims in relation to theactions of his errant backbencher, the memberfor Fitzroy. The Premier, by drawing anincredible analogy between a self-servingunion picket line and the heroic efforts ofpeople from another era who combatedfascism, has linked the mining company RioTinto with Nazism. If he really is interested ininvestment and in jobs, jobs and jobs——

Mr BEATTIE: I rise to a point of order.That comment is untrue and I seek for it to bewithdrawn. I have never made any analogybetween Rio Tinto and Nazi Germany.

Mr SANTORO: Yes, you did.

Mr BEATTIE: I seek for it to be withdrawn.

Mr SANTORO: If the Premier is offended,I will withdraw; the record can speak for itself.With the future prospects of Queensland atstake, what do we see?

Mr SPEAKER: Order!Mr SANTORO: I did say that I will

withdraw.

Mr SPEAKER: The member will simplymake the withdrawal.


Mr SANTORO: I did make my withdrawalpreviously, as Hansard will show.

Firstly, we see the local Labor memberactually joining the picket line and beingarrested. Then he told us—

"I really don't care what othermembers of Parliament think"—

and he didn't stop there. He said—"Because I represent this area and

it's fair enough for everyone to open theirbig mouths in Opposition but you have toprove that you're fair dinkum and standalongside your constituents when you'rein Government."

I would say to the honourable member that heis elected to represent all his constituents, notjust a small minority of law breakers.

Just at the time the member for Fitzroyjoined the picket line, the Premier was about tovisit Rio Tinto in London to submit thatComalco, Rio Tinto's subsidiary company,should invest in a new $4.5 billion smelter inGladstone and not go offshore to Malaysia.Yet at this critical juncture, the Premier actuallybacked up the member for Fitzroy. We can besure that this remark, along with his otherutterings, has entered the record at Rio Tinto'scorporate headquarters. He said—

"Jim Pearce is an old coal miner, anold miner, I mean why wouldn't he bestanding up for the people herepresents?"

I cannot recall any time in this State's historywhen a Premier has publicly condoned lawbreaking by a member of Parliament and triedto cover it with a veil of respectability. ThePremier should have called last week for theunion picket to be abandoned. The FederalCourt has set a date in April to hear thedispute between the sacked Gordonstoneworkers and the former employer, Arco. RioTinto has been joined to this as a party to theaction.

The Premier and the State Governmentshould have said publicly that the courtroom isthe right place to sort this whole mess out; thatit cannot and will not be settled by illegalconduct at a picket line. This call is even moreimportant because just a few weeks ago theProductivity Commission released its reportinto the coal industry. The report detailed theincreased competitive and price pressures thatAustralian coal producers face. It also foundthat achievable improvements in productivitycould add $3 billion to national income withinthe next decade. The commission outlined atlength that there are still many restrictive workpractices that inhibit productivity in the industry.

The commission found that industrial action bymilitant unions has been unacceptably high.

The commission also noted the benefitsof the flexibilities provided by the FederalWorkplace Relations Act. In reality, what RioTinto has attempted to do at Gordonstone issimply make a failed mine work and give a jobto people who otherwise would not have one.At stake is the principle of whether anemployer who is working within the law shouldbe applauded for job creation or harassed andvictimised by a union whose actions place jobsat risk.

The Premier is at least in good companywhen he makes the statements that he madetoday. Just days after Lord Mayor Soorley, atpublic expense, wined and dined the Irishnationalist Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, thisapologist for the IRA backed the CFMEU. ThePremier is in very good company here, orrather bad company: the member for Fitzroy,the CFMEU and Gerry Adams. Who next willjoin this alliance for Queensland jobdestruction? Perhaps Saddam Hussein mightwrite next in solidarity.

If this matter was not so tragic and soserious for Queensland it would be a joke. Butit is very, very serious and the Government haslet the people of this State down badly. On thealtar of expediency and for the sake of unionmates it has sacrificed business confidence,the building of bridges with Rio Tinto andrespect for the rule of law.

Time expired.

Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier) (6.15 p.m.): I move thefollowing amendment—

"Omit all words after 'That this House,noting with concern the impact on jobsand business confidence of theGordonstone dispute,' and insert—

'condemns the Federal Governmentfor its refusal to act to assist in theresolution of the dispute andtherefore calls on the FederalMinister for Employment andWorkplace Relations, Peter Reith,to—

establish as a matter of urgencya process for conciliation andresolution of the Gordonstonedispute;

immediately remove harsh andunfair federal workplace relationslaws which promote division,conflict and unrest within theAustralian community; and


reinstate the comprehensivearbitration powers of theAustralian Industrial RelationsCommission—to enable it to actas effective and independentumpire.'."

This amendment is the solution toGordonstone. We would finally get a FederalGovernment that is prepared to do somethingunder the existing Federal award to resolve thematter. What is this motion designed toachieve tonight? It is all about cheap politicalpoint scoring. It is all about a Leader of theOpposition who is on a sticky wicket, finding itdifficult to hold his job, and trying to run aroundhere and thump the old drum of bashing theQueensland worker. That is what it is allabout—nothing more, nothing less.

What does the National Party Leader dowhen he is in trouble? Get out the old drumand bash the worker! That is what it is allabout. This is about cheap point scoring andnothing more. He tried to use the member forFitzroy as a political pawn in question timetoday to try to save his own leadership. You donot get any lower than that. He is trying tomuddy the waters rather than clear them.

If the Nationals and Liberals were seriousabout this, they would have acted when thedispute started. When did this dispute start? In1997! If we are going to have some silly pointsabout this and continue the sort of nonsensedebate that the Leader of the Opposition hasstarted, I ask: who was the Premier in 1997?The current Leader of the Opposition! Whatdid he do? Zero! Why did he do nothing?Simply because he was part of a never-neverGovernment that did nothing!

But instead of coming up with legislationdesigned to find solutions, the previousGovernment drew up laws that provokedconfrontation. What they want——

Mr Borbidge: You said it was a Federalissue.

Mr BEATTIE: The Opposition Leadercannot even follow a simple line of logic. I saidthat if I wanted to continue his silly argument,they are the consequences. He should juststick with me. I know it is hard, but he shouldtry to follow some logic.

They wanted industrial relations laws to beused as a battlefield. That is what the formerMinister, Mr Santoro, introduced into thisHouse. That is what Peter Reith introduced.They do not want industrial relations to work;they want it to be a battlefield.

Mr SANTORO: I rise to a point of order.Mr Speaker, in returning the courtesy to thePremier, I find his remarks——

Mr BEATTIE: I withdraw.

Mr SANTORO: Mr Speaker, I find hisremarks that I introduced legislation in order tocreate an industrial relations battlefieldoffensive and I ask the Premier to withdrawthem.

Mr BEATTIE: I will withdraw.

The position is very simply this: I met RioTinto when I was in London. I saw thechairman, Robert Wilson, and the chiefexecutive, Leon Davis. We had sensiblediscussions about the Chevron gas pipelinefrom Papua New Guinea. We had discussionsabout the $4.5 billion smelter andcogeneration facility. We also talked aboutGordonstone. I told them that, although theworkers were employed under a Federalaward, my Government was anxious to seethe dispute resolved and the mine go ahead.We agreed that the sooner the mine operates,the better it will be for all concerned. I toldthem that I am keen to have the matterresolved as quickly as possible. I told themthat I believe in an industrial relations systemwhich seeks to find solutions, rather than onewhich provokes confrontation.

They understood my position. I also madeit absolutely clear that we as a Governmentvalue investments by Rio Tinto in this State,through Comalco and particularly in relation tothe refinery and the Chevron gas pipeline.

The goings-on at Gordonstone will haveno influence on Rio Tinto's investment in thisState. The only people who are out theredamaging our international reputation arethose opposite, who are seeking to scorecheap political points. They do not care aboutour reputation. They will do anything to destroyjobs because all they want to do is play politicsat the expense of Queensland workers.

I made our position in relation to Rio Tintovery clear. The company knows that we are acan-do, jobs generating Government. It knowswhat we are doing. It also knows the nonsensefrom those opposite. It has no respect for theOpposition's position in any of this. TheOpposition is about the past; we are about thefuture.

Time expired.

Hon. P. J. BRADDY (Kedron—ALP)(Minister for Employment, Training andIndustrial Relations) (6.20 p.m.): I rise tosecond the amendment moved by the Premierand to speak out on behalf of Queenslandand Queenslanders for a return to sanity inindustrial relations in this country. Certainly it isthis Government's intention to introducelegislation to ensure a fair and equitable


industrial relations system which will havemajority support.

As the Premier said before, I did not saythat I could introduce legislation that will settlethis dispute, because it is a Federal matter.We can bring in legislation which will set anexample and show the way to a return tosanity and to a return to laws which aresupported by a large majority of Australiansand certainly Queenslanders.

On coming to Government, weimmediately asked for a group of people,representative of both unionists andemployers, to work with us on where we shouldgo with industrial laws. One thing that wasmade very clear in the report of that task forcewas that a large majority of both workers andemployers want an industrial commission inthis State which will have the power toconciliate and arbitrate in a manner which wastraditional in this State and in this country.

Our opponents either know no history or,if they do, refuse to understand it. Firstly, wehave a long and honourable history in thiscountry of industrial commissions which havethe capacity and the powers to arbitrate, andconciliate where necessary. Secondly, thoseon the other side do not even know currentaffairs. How could anyone who watched theevents that unfolded in the Patrick dispute notunderstand how necessary it is to have a fairand competent industrial relationscommission? In that dispute we saw the thugsin balaclavas with their dogs stopped not by afair industrial law, which had been abandonedby the Opposition's counterparts in Canberra,but only by the common law courts—ultimatelythe Federal Court and the High Court. Thatwas a very expensive process which ultimatelyled to the collapse of the Reith-inspired attackon trade unionists, the trade union system anda fair industrial relations system in this country.It collapsed and the matter was able to besettled.

Here we see a similar situation inGordonstone. The Federal Minister, PeterReith, was here in Queensland recently,proudly saying that he had no intention ofintervening in the Gordonstone dispute, whichhas gone on since 1997. He says that it is amatter for the company and the workers tofight their way out of the problem. This disputeis approaching two years in duration, yetMinister Reith washes his hands of it and walksaway.

Peter Reith, the coalition Government inCanberra and the coalition Opposition inQueensland agree on one thing: a totallyderegulated market. They want to destroy the

trade union system. They want to destroy thesystem of arbitration and conciliation, which isone of Australia's proud legacies to the wholeof the Western World. They want to destroythat. They will let a dispute go on year afteryear in order to prove that their deregulatedsystem is the way to operate. We reject that.We reject it in our amendment.

We point out that Peter Reith and theFederal Government have abandoned theirresponsibilities to the Australian people andthe Australian economy. We indicate that inour term, within a matter of months, we willbring legislation into this Parliament which willhave the support of many employers who willwant an industrial commission returned so thatin areas of Queensland jurisdiction—over 55%of Queensland workers—they will have anindustrial commission which can intervene,which can arbitrate, which can conciliate andwhich will not allow situations such as occurredwith Patrick and at Gordonstone to developand get out of hand.

The barrenness of the knowledge and thelegislation of the coalition stands exposed forall to see. We saw it in relation to Patrick andwe are seeing it now in relation toGordonstone. The motion is rejected by theGovernment.

Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—NPA)(6.25 p.m.): I rise to support the motion movedby the Leader of the Opposition. I speak onbehalf of those people of the CentralHighlands who are looking to this Governmentfor leadership in relation to the anarchy andterror at Gordonstone. The Minister forIndustrial Relations might take heed of this: ifwe are to have sanity, we first have to haveleadership.

Every day citizens of this State are havingtheir lives torn apart by what is happening atGordonstone at this very moment. These men,women and children believe that they have aright to go about their daily lives without terror.What sort of example is being set by the StateGovernment? Even businesspeople inEmerald are afraid of speaking out throughfear of reprisals. They find that theirGovernment representative has no respect forthe rule of law. He believes that he is abovethe law. He believes that he can pick andchoose which law he will abide by.

Does the member for Fitzroy believe inthe laws of this State or does he believe thatanyone can choose which laws they would liketo obey? If the honourable member does notagree that the police should have the power tokeep our roads open, let him say so. Let himchange the law if he does not like it. The


Police Minister showed no support whatsoeverfor the police trying to man that picket line andkeep law and order at Emerald andGordonstone.

Mr BARTON: Mr Speaker, I rise to a pointof order. I find the member's comments that Ishow no support for police to be offensive andI ask that it be withdrawn.

Mr JOHNSON: I withdraw because he isholding me up. The member for Fitzroy spoketoday about standing up for what he believesin. If he believes in what this State Parliamentis about, let him stand up for it and either obeythe laws of this Parliament or change them.Which is it to be? He cannot have it both ways.Nor can the Premier.

Does the Premier support what themember for Fitzroy has been saying about RioTinto and about the business community? Themember for Fitzroy said this morning in thisHouse that the business community inEmerald has been caught up by thepropaganda of Rio Tinto. What an insult to acompany that is trying to create jobs! ThePremier is saying that he is trying to getunemployment to 5%. What a hypocriticalstatement that is! Is Rio Tinto welcome in thisState or not? Can it expect the Premier tosupport the rule of law?

Mr Borbidge: No.

Mr JOHNSON: That is the answer all right.This company could support this Governmentin its attempt to attain its 5% unemploymentgoal. Instead, the Government condones thebehaviour of a militant few who do not care.They do not have to pay the wages, thesuperannuation, the workers compensation ornegotiate the coal contracts. The list goes on.

The Premier's great contribution so far isto ask for the Commonwealth to come up withlaws that encourage a negotiated settlement.Would these be the same kinds of laws thatthe Premier condones his members breaking?The Premier is sitting on the barbed wire fenceon so many issues at the moment that he isstarting to look and sound like a crow. Sooneror later he will have to make some decisions.

On 20 February the Courier-Mail got itright for once. It correctly identified that theGordonstone issue is the litmus test for thePremier. No more grip and grin and blamingothers; it is time to demonstrate that he will notbe dictated to by the militant minority of about17 and it is time to protect those in this Statewho abide by the law and have a right to livelife without fear and intimidation.

Let me make it clear that I have noargument with the rank and file of the CFMEU.

In fact, 40 or so CFMEU members arecurrently working at the mine. That mine hasthe capacity to earn up to $250m annually andto create employment for 180 people. Thosejobs form an important core of the Emeraldcommunity, which is suffering division andfragmentation because of the attitude of aselfish few. This issue is about ideology allright. It is about law or anarchy. It is about whoreally runs this State: the electedrepresentatives of the people or the 17militants of the CFMEU who, after sharing inthe $4.6m compensation from ARCO, are nowbludging $600 a week from their unionmates—probably on the dole, too.

The people of the Central Highlandsdeserve to have the Premier answer thesequestions. The people of the central coastneed to know that this Government welcomesthe investment of Rio Tinto in the light metalsindustry in this State. Or must these potentialjobs also be offered up on the altar of northernunionism, Pat Mackie style? We saw it in thesixties, but we are not going to wear it in thenineties. And all this for the sake of someunemployable thugs on the picket line! I say tothem: wake up before the whole industrysuffers at the hands of our internationalcompetitors. That picket line should beremoved immediately to let Pacific Coal get onwith the job so that they can mine coal atEmerald without the thuggery attached to theCFMEU and this Labor Government.

Time expired.

Hon. T. McGRADY (Mount Isa—ALP)(Minister for Mines and Energy and MinisterAssisting the Deputy Premier on RegionalDevelopment) (6.31 p.m.): Some of thecomments that have been made in thisChamber today, when read tomorrow, willdemonstrate just how Opposition membershave tried to inflame a very delicate situation.Nobody in this Chamber could be happy tosee a great resource standing idle, andnobody in this Chamber should be happy tosee decent Queenslanders not earning a livingby not having a job. Some weeks ago I spoketo Brian Horwood, who is the leader of thatcoalmining company in this State, and Iexpressed to him the Government's concernabout the situation and offered whatever helpwe could provide. To date, no request hascome back from that company.

This motion is in part about the memberfor Fitzroy. Every one of us in this Chamber gothere in a democratic way. We are entitled toour views, our opinions and our beliefs. JimPearce, the member for Fitzroy, was acoalminer. Jim Pearce today has the honour of


representing a great percentage ofQueensland coalminers. At the time of thelockout, he decided himself that he would goand join some of his colleagues on the picketline. He was entitled to take that position.Whether it was right or wrong is something thatJim Pearce will decide.

I did not take too kindly to the thendeputy leader of the coalition calling upon meto remove Jim Pearce from my parliamentarycommittee. Jim Pearce is one of the fewpeople in this Chamber who understands thecoalmining industry. He has, over a long timein this Parliament, played a very significant rolein the work of the coalmining industry.

Tonight we are talking about a great partof the Queensland coalmining industry. It is anindustry that employs over 20,000 peopledirectly and approximately 60,000 peopleindirectly. As has been mentioned by thePremier, it is an industry that earns exportincome of more than $5 billion a year, yetsome members in this Chamber tonight aretrying to use this dispute as a political football.Quite honestly, they stand condemned.

People say that one should not hark backto the good old times, but we have seenindustrial relations in this State and in thisnation go from bad to worse. I have to say thatit is my belief that industrial relations have hitan all-time low because of the deliberateactions of conservative Governments.

The member for Gregory mentioned PatMackie. In 1964, the Mount Isa mineral fieldwas in chaos. Again, I am not standing heretonight to say who was right and who waswrong. But that mineral field was in totalchaos. As a result of that, both sides ofindustry—the unions and the company—decided that that must never, ever happenagain. What they put in place was a systemwhich served that city and that mineral field forabout 25 years. We had no industrialdisputation. And we had no industrialdisputation because the company and theunions sat down and thrashed out theirproblems. I am proud of my friends whoparticipated in those deliberations, becausethey provided us with 25 years of industrialpeace. All that was broken by the actions ofconservative Governments.

Mr Borbidge: You're showing your colourstonight.

Mr McGRADY: I am showing my colours,and I am proud of the colours that I wear. Butwhat I am saying——

Mr Borbidge interjected.

Mr McGRADY: Heavens! The member forFitzroy is entitled to take the stand that hetook. He will have his day in court. But it iswrong for a motion to come before thisParliament criticising a member for doing whathe believes is correct. I believe that Oppositionmembers in this place stand condemned forthe way in which they have used this disputeas a political football and the way in which theyhave inflamed a very, very difficult situation.

Time expired.Dr WATSON (Moggill—LP) (Leader of the

Liberal Party) (6.36 p.m.): It is an insult and adisgrace that the name of Jim Pearce is to bementioned in the same sentence as NelsonMandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Nelson andGandhi improved the lot of their people. Butthe member for Fitzroy is not improving the lotof his people. In fact, Jim Pearce iscondemning his people to unemployment. As Isaid earlier tonight, he is condemning hispeople—his constituents—to poverty.

The member for Fitzroy might win a fewvotes from his militant miner mates forbreaking the law and getting arrested, but hisactions are more likely to lose a few votes inboardrooms around the world. And those fewvotes could ultimately cost Queenslandthousands of jobs. Once upon a time, wecould perhaps say to investors with the utmostconfidence that Queensland had a stable anddemocratic Government. But for how long willwe have a stable and democratic Governmentif the people we entrust to make the lawsbreak our laws? We all want to create jobs forQueensland. But before we can create jobs,we have to create confidence.

Mr Fouras interjected.

Dr WATSON: The member ought to knowthat. The actions of Jim Pearce and theendorsement of those actions by the Premierand the other Labor Ministers, all of whomought to know better, do not create confidencefor people looking at investing in Queensland.If we cannot provide certainty of supply,certainty of quality and certainty that we havelaw-abiding companies, then those investorsare going to go elsewhere. The simple reality isthis——

Mr Fouras interjected.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for

Ashgrove must not interject from other than hiscorrect seat.

Dr WATSON: The reality is this:Queensland is not the only place in the worldwith coal in the ground. If Labor wants tomention Jim Pearce in the same breath asNelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi,


perhaps we should look at the example of thecoal situation in those two countries. Officialfigures from the World Coal Institute show thatboth of those countries already produce morecoal than Australia does. In fact, Indiaproduces 271 million metric tonnes, and SouthAfrica 208 million metric tonnes, comparedwith Australia's 195 million metric tonnes.Granted, Australia exports more coal thaneither of those two nations. But how long will itbe before countries such as India and SouthAfrica increase their exports and join acrowded supply market which includes theUnited States of America, Canada, Indonesia,Russia and Poland?

Mr Littleproud: China.

Dr WATSON: And China.

Coalmines might have been gold mines inthe past, but not any more. Mining is sufferingits worst slump in 15 years. No mine in India,South Africa, Kentucky or Queensland canafford to have unproductive staff or practices.There is no doubt that there is much room forimprovement in productivity in the Queenslandcoalmining industry.

I know that most members have thisinformation because they also had a briefing.Let us consider MIM, one of Rio Tinto'scompetitors. It has made substantialproductivity gains in its Queensland coalminingoperations since changing to enterpriseagreements. Let us consider the figures. I donot know where the Minister for Mines andEnergy has taken off to, but he ought to knowthese. Productivity at Collinsville is up 250%.Productivity at Oakey Creek is up 90%.Productivity at Newlands is up 60%.Productivity at Abbot Point is up 100%. MIMstates that it introduced certified agreementsto remove restrictive management and workpractices to allow employees to achieve theproductivity improvements necessary to becompetitive. Unless Queensland iscompetitive, there will be no Gordonstone, andthere will be no jobs.

I assume everybody in this House knowsthat coal is formed from the remains of treesand plants that died about the same time asthe dinosaurs. The simple truth of the matter isthis: unless Labor can control its dinosaurs,such as the honourable member for Fitzroyand the mining division of the CFMEU, thenthe Queensland coal industry itself will die.That is what they will have to explain to theirconstituents and to their mining mates.

Mr PEARCE (Fitzroy—ALP) (6.41 p.m.): Irise in support of the Premier's amendmentwhich, if accepted, makes the motion read—

"That this House, noting with concernthe impact on jobs and businessconfidence of the Gordonstone dispute,condemns the Federal Government for itsrefusal to act to assist in the resolution ofthe dispute ..."

It is a damaging dispute that has attracted notonly national but international attention. Iwould like to read into Hansard the facts of thisdispute. This information is by courtesy ofAndrew Vickers of the CFMEU. Membersopposite are not interested in the facts. Theyare not interested in the fact that we are losingjobs in central Queensland, in areas that theyrepresent, where they claim to be thechampions of the bush. I will tell them somefacts so that the people of Queenslandunderstand.

Fact one: even prior to the AustralianIndustrial Relations Commission awardingcompensation for unfair dismissal for the 312workers sacked, the same commission hadmade an interim order requiring ARCO toprovide preference to sacked workers in theevent of the mine reopening because ARCOwas actively advertising its intention to restartthe mine as early as December 1997. Thecommission said that the workers should havetheir jobs back.

Fact two: in face of that order, ARCOchanged its mind and decided not tocommence the reopening. Fact three: theAIRC awarded monetary compensation to theworkers because the reinstatement was not anoption as ARCO told the commission that itwas not restarting the mine. Fact four: in June1998 the commission decided that there wasno further need for the interim orders ofDecember 1997 as ARCO continued to tell thecommission that it had no immediate plans forrestarting the mine. The interim order wastherefore cancelled.

Fact five: within weeks of the decision toterminate the interim order, ARCO againadvertised for labour and the union againmade application to the commission. On thatoccasion, ARCO implored the commission tomake a quick decision as it was intending torecruit labour and restart the mine by themiddle of August. The commission issued anorder requiring ARCO to give preferences ofemployment to the sacked workers. That wasthe second occasion that the commission hadordered ARCO to give preference to thosesacked mine workers.

Fact six: ARCO again placed its restartplans on ice to avoid complying with thecommission order. It walked away from that,because the commission had ordered that


those sacked workers be given their jobs back.Fact seven: ARCO applied for a review of thatcommission order by a full bench. By a two toone majority the order was quashed. Theunion has appealed that decision and is doingso in the Federal Court on remittal from theHigh Court. The appeal by the union has beenset down for hearing by the Federal Court on 7April this year. We look forward to thatjudgment. Members opposite should bewaiting to see what happens instead oflaunching this outlandish attack in the Housetoday.

As to the attitude of members on thatside of the House—I think about five memberssitting on that side of the House havecoalmining communities in their electorates. Iam about standing in this place, standingalongside my constituents, to make sure thatthey get a fair deal. I am not hearing anythingfrom those members over there about thebusinesses that are being closed down, aboutthe businesses that are going bankrupt in thecommunities. I have not heard from themabout the 200 empty houses in a town likeDysart, the four businesses that have closedsince Christmas or the 20 businesses thathave closed in Blackwater. Those constituentsdo not blame me; they know whom to blame.They are blaming the Federal Government,Reith and the lack of guts of membersopposite to stand up to those in Canberra whowant to run the lives of people and destroyfamilies. Members opposite just do not careabout that.

Mr Johnson: They don't want to talk toyou.

Mr PEARCE: I am glad the member forGregory interjected. I have a little story for theHouse about the member for Gregory. Hewent to the picket line last week, snivelling tothe picketers in an attempt to get them onside.

Mr Johnson interjected.

Mr PEARCE: He knows what he said toJim Lambley from the CFMEU.

Mr Johnson interjected.Mr PEARCE: He told Jim Lambley that he

supported the right of those people to choosetheir union.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! The House willcome to order.

Time expired.Mr MITCHELL (Charters Towers—NPA)

(6.46 p.m.): I rise to support the motion movedby the Leader of the Opposition in theParliament tonight. As shadow Minister forMines and Energy and the member for

Charters Towers, an electorate in which miningis one of the mainstays of the regionaleconomy, I hold grave concerns for the futureof the industry and the future of miners' jobsunder this can't do Beattie Government. All theindicators, and the industry itself, are pointingto another tough year ahead for the coalindustry and the need for increasedproductivity to ensure our industry remainscompetitive and Queensland mines stay open.However, this Government appears totallyoblivious to those indicators and unwilling towork with the industry in tackling those areaswhere productivity can be improved and jobsmaintained.

This Government's endorsement of theillegal and job destroying behaviour of someon the Gordonstone picket, including themember for Fitzroy, provides stark evidence ofthat. The Gordonstone mine was previouslyclosed for 18 months. Based on an annualcontribution of $25m in wages alone to theEmerald and Peak Downs communities, thatclosure cost those communities in the vicinityof $35m. Add to that the lost returns to theQueensland economy as a whole, and theimpact of the picket line in stifling thedevelopment of the mine is enormous.

The reopening of the mine by Rio Tintoand the subsequent employment ofQueenslanders was hailed by the communityand the coalition. One would think that theBeattie Government—this Government thatclaims to be obsessed with jobs—would sharethose sentiments. But over the last few weeks,we have seen once again that the "jobs, jobs,jobs" line is just that: a line of empty rhetoric.

This motion is not about industrialrelations; this motion is about developingindustry and creating jobs. It is about the basicrights of Queensland workers to travel to andfrom their work place. It is about basic law andorder in this State. The statements byGovernment members on this matter in theParliament this morning and previously in themedia have left the industry in no doubt that,under this can't do Beattie Government,Queensland is not open for business, andmany speakers have spoken along thoselines.

The conduct of the member for Fitzroy isa disgrace. As one of this State's law makers,he has sent a clear message to thecommunity that it is okay to be a law breaker.It is not surprising that the member for MountIsa has once again shirked his responsibilitiesas Minister for Mines and Energy andendorsed the illegal thuggery of his colleaguethe member for Fitzroy. But for the Premier of


this State to also endorse those actions showsa man bound by party philosophies and with atotal lack of leadership. Matthew Franklin ofthe Courier-Mail hit the nail on the head on 20February when he said—

"A great Labor Premier rises abovesectional interests—be they business orlabour—and acts for the good of thewhole State. A poor Labor Premier is acaptive of sectional interests and cannotput aside his alliances to make toughdecisions."This motion calls for leadership for the

good of the State. It calls for the substance toback up the froth and bubble of this Premier. Itcalls for an end to the dispute which is costingthe Emerald community and the Queenslandeconomy millions of dollars and is hurting ourreputation as an attractive developmentdestination. This is not the only company thathas mentioned to me that they are seekingalternatives outside Queensland and Australia.Until the Premier shows some leadership onthis issue, mining and other industrialdevelopments and the jobs that go with thedevelopments will continue to be divertedaway from Queensland.

To sum up, I quote Mr Clive Bubb, chiefexecutive of the Queensland Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, who on 18 Februarystated—

"It is not in Queensland's interests toallow rogue members of any political partyto undermine Queensland's generallygood economic credentials. TheQueensland Parliament has a duty toensure that this behaviour is not allowedto set a precedent for the future."

I think that all members opposite shouldtake note of that. I also urge all members tosupport this motion and let us get this mine upand running.

Mr WILSON (Ferny Grove—ALP)(6.50 p.m.): It is with great pleasure that I risein support of the Premier's amendment tocondemn the Federal industrial relationslegislation. Last week, Queensland wasgraced, if that be the word, by the presence ofPeter Reith, who took time out to criticise theongoing reform of Queensland's industrialrelations system and to provocatively exhortQueensland employers to opt out of the Statesystem and move to the Federal industrialrelations system.

His level of provocation is matched onlyby the level of intemperate, inflammatory andimmoderate tone and language of thespeakers opposite tonight. As anyone who has

some direct, practical experience of industrialrelations knows, the display by the Oppositionis exactly the thing that we do not need inindustrial relations in Queensland. In commonwith my valued colleague Jim Pearce, I, too,am interested in the facts. There is so muchheat coming from the other side that onecould hardly see any light.

The facts are that the Gordonstonecoalmine in central Queensland was opened in1991 with much fanfare about its being themost technologically advanced undergroundmine in the world. Employees were told thatthe life of the mine was 25 years. The projectwas undertaken by a joint venture involvingARCO as the principal joint venturer—ARCObeing an American oil company valued atapproximately $20 billion. By 1996, the minewas breaking world production records for anunderground coalmine. The workers werecongratulated and a statue at the minedeclared the work force to be the bestmineworkers in the world.

In January 1997, when the FederalGovernment's new slash-and-burn industrialrelations law took effect, the companycommenced an anti-union strategy. In October1997, after attempts to deunionise its workforce by wriggling out of its 1996 certifiedagreement had failed, the company sacked itsentire production and engineering work forceof 312. It kept on a management staff team ofover 100 non-production workers andcommenced recruiting a new production andengineering work force. The Federalcommission thwarted these attempts byordering the company to give preference ofemployment to the former workers. Thecompany refused to re-open the mine onthose terms.

In February 1998, the commission foundthat the dismissals had been unfair andordered the company to pay compensation.The commission found that the company haddeliberately set about an anti-union approachmotivated by the desire to avoid its obligationsunder an enterprise agreement that it hadfreely entered into in 1996. The commissiondid not order reinstatement as the companysaid that it would refuse to operate the mineunless it could recruit a new work force.

In October 1998, ARCO announced that itwould sell the mine to RTZ. In December1998, RTZ commenced recruiting for theGordonstone mine. The recruitment wascarried out in secret and 23 hand-pickedemployees from those management staffemployees were selected. The companyrecruited through Mine Management Pty Ltd,

88 Adjournment 2 Mar 1999

a $2 shelf company 100% owned by RTZ. Hasanyone heard about the Patrick and the MUAdispute or is that lot opposite still asleep? As Isaid, some of those employed came from theGordonstone mine management staffemployees.

The 23 hand-picked employees wereoffered a non-union agreement that wouldcover all work at the mine by the staff andproduction employees for a two-year period.So 23 got to make a decision for theapproximately 200 or 300 whom they intendedto employ. The agreement overrides allexisting obligations at the Gordonstone mine.No preference of employment will be given tothe former workers and the new certifiedagreement will be significantly less in itsconditions of employment than the previousone.

Against the giant multinationals, aboutwhich One Nation seemed to be so muchconcerned in the past, but not today, we have200 workers trying to get their jobs back, tryingto look after their families, trying to hang on totheir houses, trying to make the mortgagepayments, trying to make the rent paymentsweek by week, trying to keep their kids inschool and trying to understand what is goingon. That is why we need a new industrialrelations system in this country.

Time expired.

Question—That the amendment beagreed to—put; and the House divided—AYES, 43—Attwood, Barton, Bligh, Boyle, Braddy,Bredhauer, Briskey, Clark, E. A. Cunningham, J. I.Cunningham, Edmond, Elder, Fenlon, Foley, Fouras,Gibbs, Hamill, Hayward, Lavarch, Lucas, Mackenroth,McGrady, Mickel, Mulherin, Musgrove, Nelson-Carr,Nuttall, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Pitt, Reeves, Reynolds,Robertson, Rose, Schwarten, Spence, Struthers,Welford, Wellington, Wells, Wilson. Tellers: Sullivan,Roberts

NOES, 39——Beanland, Black, Borbidge, Cooper,Dalgleish, Davidson, Elliott, Feldman, Gamin, Grice,Healy, Hobbs, Horan, Johnson, Kingston, Knuth,Laming, Lester, Lingard, Littleproud, Malone,Mitchell, Nelson, Paff, Pratt, Prenzler, Quinn, Rowell,Santoro, Seeney, Sheldon, Simpson, Slack,Springborg, Stephan, Turner, Watson. Tellers:Baumann, Hegarty

Pairs: Beattie, Goss; D'Arcy, Veivers; Purcell,Connor.

Resolved in the affirmative

Question—That the motion as amendedbe agreed to—put; and the House divided—AYES, 44—Attwood, Barton, Bligh, Boyle, Braddy,Bredhauer, Briskey, Clark, E. A. Cunningham, J. I.Cunningham, Edmond, Elder, Fenlon, Foley, Fouras,Gibbs, Hamill, Hayward, Lavarch, Lucas, Mackenroth,

McGrady, Mickel, Mulherin, Musgrove, Nelson-Carr,Nuttall, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Pitt, Pratt, Reeves,Reynolds, Robertson, Rose, Schwarten, Spence,Struthers, Welford, Wellington, Wells, Wilson.Tellers: Sullivan, RobertsNOES, 38—Beanland, Black, Borbidge, Cooper,Dalgleish, Davidson, Elliott, Feldman, Gamin, Grice,Healy, Hobbs, Horan, Johnson, Kingston, Knuth,Laming, Lester, Lingard, Littleproud, Malone,Mitchell, Nelson, Paff, Prenzler, Quinn, Rowell,Santoro, Seeney, Sheldon, Simpson, Slack,Springborg, Stephan, Turner, Watson. Tellers:Baumann, Hegarty

Pairs: Beattie, Goss; D'Arcy, Veivers; Purcell,Connor.

Resolved in the affirmative.

ADJOURNMENTHon. T. M. MACKENROTH (Chatsworth—

ALP) (Leader of the House) (7.05 p.m.): Imove—

"That the House do now adjourn."

Labor Party Preselection of FemaleCandidates

Mr SANTORO (Clayfield—LP) (7.05 p.m.):I want to briefly speak about Labor machinemen and how these Labor machine men putwomen in neutral. With a redistribution of Stateseats due out later this year, already the Labormachine men are out there carving out seatsfor themselves. Now that the Premier haspublicly admitted that Mike Kaiser has well andtruly passed his use-by date, he has beenanointed as a "great" candidate forWoodridge.

This is yet another example of thearrogant way that the Labor Party operatesand its total contempt for selecting women ascandidates in safe seats. Mr Kaiser's blatantattempts of late to secure Woodridge have tobe seen in the context of the recent Laborpreselection brawl in Oxley. The whole Laborhierarchy, from Gary Gray down to MikeKaiser, did everything possible to derail thepreselection of Anne Scott. Who could forgetthe totally outrageous intervention of GaryGray, who tipped a bucket of muck over MrsScott and tried to force her out of the race?Gary Gray tried to scuttle her candidacy bypublicly calling for her to withdraw or have herhusband, former Federal MP Les Scott,surrender his $30,000 parliamentary pensionduring the preselection process.

Of course, Mr Gray, Mr Kaiser and AWUpowerbroker Bill Ludwig, who personallyplucked from much deserved obscurity BernieRipoll as the anointed male candidate, raised

2 Mar 1999 Adjournment 89

no such problems when Brenda Gibbsobtained Senate preselection; nor did theyintervene when the member for Kurwongbahgot her preselection, despite the fact that herhusband is in receipt of a Federal payout. No,instead they supported a 32-year-old malecandidate who had left no footprints in thesand. This nonentity got—wait for it—just 49votes out of a possible 247 in a branchplebiscite. Not what one would calloverwhelming support!

But in a show of democracy that SaddamHussein would be proud of, when Labor'selectoral college—and there read"powerbrokers"—voted, Mr Ripoll suddenly gotmajority support. What about the locallypopular Mrs Scott? Well, she received zerovotes. Let me repeat that: zero votes. Somuch for democracy and so much foradvancing the cause of women. I notice howall the women opposite are staying quiet. Ifonly they could pluck up the courage of theirconvictions and speak up for Mrs Anne Scott.However, it is left to people such as myself inthis place to support Mrs Scott. As Anne Scottsaid of these factional heavyweights, "Theyjust can't cope with having a woman in awinnable seat—they just want the winnableseats for their mates."

Well, at least the heavyweights of Labordo one thing to balance things up. Instead ofpreselecting women, they preselectlightweights—Mr Bernie "Who" Ripoll, andsoon the man with the use-by sticker on hishead, Mike Kaiser. Any reasonable personwould have no option but to agree. Who couldseriously argue that Bernie Ripoll, a 32-year-old ex-RAAF apprentice who caught BillLudwig's eye as an organiser in the PublicSector Union was an outstanding candidate?This nonentity received selection because"Uncle" Bill Ludwig can pick out hacks at 100paces. When he saw Bernie Ripoll beaveringaway at keeping those all importantmembership dues coming in, he saw asoulmate. I suspect he thought, "Here he is, aman after my own tastes. He's got noachievements, he owes everything to theunion, and he'll owe everything to me."

So here we have it. Let us preselect into asafe House of Representatives seat a goodexample of 1950s unionism. Femalerepresentation? Well, forget about that.Women can be preselected into seats wherethey do not stand a chance. No betterexample can be given of that than, on the veryday Bernie Ripoll was given his gold card forFederal Parliament from Labor, the LaborParty preselected a female candidate for Blair.In short, give a man the safe seat and give a

woman an unwinnable one. That is the sort ofgender balance politics that Labor plays.

This illustrates how Labor has failedspectacularly to live up to its targets for femalerepresentation in the Parliaments of Australia.No less than Queensland Labor stalwart,Senator Margaret Reynolds, said that GaryGray's views on Mrs Scott were "anti-women"and that he was "back in the dark ages". Bypublicly backing the candidacy of Mike Kaiserand failing to publicly support Anne Scott thePremier of this State has shown, once again,that he is all rhetoric and no action. Whenpush comes to shove it is clear that PeterBeattie, like his factional colleagues—I will notsay mates because even they do not trusthim—pushes men forward and shoves womenaside. The next time that Mr Ripoll cares to talkabout me in Federal Parliament I will againrepay the compliment in this Parliament.

Road Safety

Mr ROBERTS (Nudgee—ALP)(7.10 p.m.): Last Monday heralded theintroduction of the new 50 km/h speed limit inbuilt-up areas or suburban streets in south-east Queensland. It is timely, therefore, for meto raise some issues regarding theimplementation of another important safetyissue, and that relates to the school zonepolicy. Currently Queensland Transport isundertaking a review of this policy and it is inthis context that I raise a number of issueswhich I believe will enhance the safety ofchildren during the times when they arrive atand depart from school grounds.

The most important element arising fromthe school zone system is the reinforcement ofthe need to exercise caution and additionalcare when driving in the vicinity of a school.Currently, the school zone policy provides for areduction in speed down to a maximum of 40km/h in built-up areas and 60 km/h in ruralareas, generally for a two-hour time framebetween 7 and 9 in the morning and 2 and 4in the afternoon. Heavily trafficked roads——

Mr Johnson: Eighty down to 60 and 60down to 40.

Mr ROBERTS: The policy actually statesthat the maximum is 40 km/h in urban zonesand 60 km/h in rural zones. Yes, there aresome slight differences in some areas. Heavilytrafficked roads, particularly dual carriageways,such as Sandgate Road, are generallyprecluded from the policy because of thedifficulties of enforcing the school zone areasand also interruptions to traffic flows. I will saya bit more about that shortly.


In addition, the policy provides for astandard design of school zone signs. I havesubmitted a proposal to Queensland Transportto substantially change the existing schoolzone policy. I do not profess to be an expert orto have all of the answers, but I do believethere are a number of key issues that aredeserving of more attention by the Ministerand his department.

The particular issue in my electorate thathas stimulated this interest in school zonepolicy relates to the speed limit on SandgateRoad outside the Boondall State School.Currently, the speed limit is set at 70 km/h.However, the records of the Department ofMain Roads indicate that the average speedpast that school is in the vicinity of 78 km/h.That is totally unacceptable outside a school.However, to date the department has resistedmy endeavours to drop the speed and install aschool zone, with a reduction in the speed limitto at least 60 km/h. I disagree with this viewand have expressed that publicly under bothcoalition and Labor Governments. It hasalways been my contention that the high trafficvolume and the extra speed of the vehiclestravelling along Sandgate Road in the vicinityof the Boondall State School are reasons forimplementing a school zone, not reasons forrejecting an application for a school zone to beimplemented.

I turn now to a few specific elements ofmy proposal to change the current schoolzone policy. The first one relates to the timeframe. A common time frame for school zonescurrently is for a two-hour period between 7and 9 in the morning and 2 and 4 in theafternoon. That does vary in some areasthroughout the State. In my view, that is fartoo long a period and is not conducive toencouraging compliance by motorists. Ashorter period of operation which targets thetimes when schoolchildren arrive and departschools will in my view improve complianceand sharpen community awareness of schoolzones as a safety initiative.

My proposal is that the times beshortened to one hour, with a generaloperating time frame of around 8 till 9 and2.30 till 3.30, depending on the specific needsof particular schools. If the period of operationof school zones extends beyond the times it isusual for children to be arriving or departingthe school grounds, the community naturallybecomes less accepting of the need tochange their driving habits.

The other issue is the delineation ofschool zones. Presently, school zones aredelineated by school zone signs placed at the

extremities of the zone. The signs are quitebland and are not distinguishable generallyfrom other speed limit signs. They are in needof improvement. Consideration should begiven to increasing their size, changing theirshape and adding more striking colours.Additionally, it would be worth whileinvestigating the use of additional roadmarkings, such as coloured stripes on theroad, to mark the entrance and exit to a schoolzone. Enhanced signage and road markingscould act as a visual reinforcing reminder thatroad conditions are different and that care isrequired. Ideally school zones should bedelineated by either electronic sign boards,such as those used on major highways, orflashing lights. Of course, that is a more costlyoption. However, I believe it can be justified insome circumstances, particularly on busy mainroads such as Sandgate Road. The schoolzone policy is an important initiative ofQueensland Transport. The current policy is inneed of review and I hope that mysubmissions will go some way towardsimproving compliance.

Time expired.

Natural Disaster Assistance Hon. T. R. COOPER (Crows Nest—NPA)(7.15 p.m.): Farmers across many areas ofQueensland have suffered at the hands of theelements over the past 12 months—fromCyclone Rona and flooding in south-eastQueensland to huge unseasonal winter rainfallacross much of Queensland's grain belt lastyear. Many farmers are now in a desperatefinancial situation and will need assistance torecover.

Assistance has been offered in the formof exceptional circumstances declarations andthrough the Queensland Rural AdjustmentAuthority—QRAA. However, the facts are thatexceptional circumstances assistance is nopanacea. We recognise that it does put foodon the table and that that is necessary in thefirst instance. However, the offers of assistancefrom QRAA are largely useless, as the Ministerwill probably know. Lots of applications arecoming in, but they rarely fit the guidelines. Ican assure the Minister that that is true. Attimes of natural disaster we often say, "Don'tworry. It will be all right. QRAA will fix you up."However, it does not.

Mr Palaszczuk: The guidelines havebeen relaxed.

Mr COOPER: The guidelines need to berelaxed further in order to make sure that wecan do something for these people, a lot of


whom have experienced a double whammy.For example, last year canegrowersexperienced low c.c.s. harvests and cyclonesboth last year and this year. A lot of themcannot afford to pay rates. They could not doso last year, so I do not see how they will beable to do so this year. That is why we have tolook at providing some form of assistanceinvolving financial restructuring on a majorscale. This is a major financial disaster for thenation.

All Governments have to play their role inorder to make sure that we can bring thesepeople back. Offering restricted financialassistance after the event is simply not goodenough. I mention again, as I did this morning,that crop insurance represents the bestopportunity to minimise risk. In recognition ofthat, the Borbidge Government abolished the8.5% stamp duty on crop insurance in its1998-99 Budget—a decision widely applaudedby farmers. As an example of the value of thatinitiative, a farmer paying a premium of$30,000 would have saved $2,550 in stampduty. The first of the can't do BeattieGovernment's few decisions was to scrap thattremendous initiative and once again slugthose doing the right thing with an unfair tax.

When the Federal Minister for Agriculture,Mark Vaile, suggested that there had to be abetter way of countering natural disasters andproposed a wide-ranging national cropinsurance scheme, members oppositebucketed it. No-one has said that it will come inat all. What the Minister wants is a wide-ranging discussion about whether we can dobetter in relation to crop insurance andhandling natural disasters, be it from fruit bats,hail, frost, drought, flood, fire and so on. Wehave to do better.

It is no use being seen as reasonable bymaking false offers of QRAA assistance whenwe know that people cannot fit the guidelines.We have to do more than that. Farmers insuch dire straits need more than that. They donot need handouts. We are not saying that atall. What they need is food on the table for astart and then medium to long-termrestructuring of their finances. The more loanspeople are given the more they have to payback. That is a worry. We have to give themrelief from immediate heavy repayments byrestructuring their loans over a longer period.Some banks are now offering loans with 15,20 and 25 years of interest-only repayments.They are starting to recognise that financing inthe rural sector is totally different from the 1July/30 June system that operates elsewhere.

It is different and it has to be treateddifferently. I also mention the fact that those

floods affected the electorate of CrowsNext—Crows Nest Shire and Esk Shire. I havehad good warning from those people therethat, while the rains were very good—they filledthe dams: Wivenhoe, Somerset, Crestbrookand Perseverance—they did cause somedamage, especially in the Esk Shire, where thedamage cost was up to $4m. I will certainly befollowing through in relation to those shires toensure that the flood damage is rectifiedthrough the normal financial processes. But,as I said, there have been double whammiesthat have hit the sugar producers, the pawpawproducers and the banana producers,particularly those in north Queensland. Theyare in dire straits, and offering QRAA andthose simple forms of assistance is not goingto do the job.

Time expired.

Cyclone Rona

Dr CLARK (Barron River—ALP)(7.20 p.m.): I have experienced four cyclonessince moving to Cairns in 1981. I have beenthrough Winifred, Joy, Justin and most recentlyCyclone Rona. Although personally Joy wasthe most terrifying—and I certainly hope theywill strike that name off the list of cyclones inthe future—each one has caused hardship forthe people of the Cairns region. Each one,though, has produced its heroes—the peoplewho make the sacrifices in times of disaster tohelp others.

Tonight I would like to give members ofthis House a better understanding of whatCyclone Rona has meant to far northQueensland and take this opportunity to thankall of those whose tireless and selfless effortssupported our community through yet anothernatural disaster. Unfortunately, the timeallotted to me—just five minutes—tonight willnot give me the opportunity to really do justiceto them, but I will do my best.

Each cyclone has its own uniquecharacter and certainly Rona gave us somesurprises. I went off to work on Thursday, 11February. It was raining somewhat. There wassupposedly a Category 1 cyclone somehundreds of miles off Cooktown. By 4 o'clockthat same afternoon it was a Category 3cyclone and predicted to cross the coast nearCairns that evening. It was certainly a fairlychaotic scene when I went to my localshopping centre as people were stocking upon their supplies, getting their petrol and doingall those last-minute preparations. Generallyspeaking, our education campaigns haveworked very successfully and people wereready for Cyclone Rona. I certainly had my


house well prepared and was ready to bunkerdown for the night.

During that evening we actually had avery comprehensive broadcast coming throughon our local commercial radio station, 4CA.John McKenzie gave us that broadcast. Everytime there is a cyclone he is there on the radio4CA. He and all of the rest of the team at 4CAdo a magnificent job keeping us up to theminute with exactly what is happening, so weare very well informed. He talks with theBureau of Meteorology, the Cairns CounterDisaster Coordination Centre and FNQEB.People also phone in to describe what ishappening in their local area.

We knew by listening to the radio that thecyclone would cross the coast at aboutmidnight and it did, in fact, cross over CapeTribulation. Most of the structural damage wasin Cow Bay, where homes and the touristresort Crocodylus were actually badlydamaged. By 2 o'clock in the morning it wasclear there was going to be a major floodingproblem in my electorate and that the peoplein the low-lying areas of Lake Placid,Kamarunga and Caravonica adjacent to theBarron River would need to be evacuated, andthe police and the SES went into action. ThePeace Lutheran College received some 600 to800 people, who began arriving there at about3.30 a.m., while the Smithfield State HighSchool became the evacuation centre forabout 200 residents.

This was the first time that this has everbeen done in Cairns. It was a first attempt atsuch an evacuation, and I would like tocongratulate David Spanagel, the chairman ofthe college, and Larry Gallagher, the principalof Smithfield State High School, who did anexcellent job under difficult circumstances.Special thanks to the legendary Trish Trail, theSmithfield State High School tuckshopconvenor, who came in and fed everybodythere. Everybody really did do a magnificentjob. By Friday morning it was clear that we didhave a major flooding problem, similar to thelevels of the last floods in my region in 1977and 1979. In fact, the level of the water overthe Tinaroo spillway was the highest everrecorded.

Most people lost power at some stage,but John Lister and his team at FNQEB did amagnificent job in restoring power in very quicktime and working under very difficultcircumstances. We were lucky that there wasnot any structural damage of major proportionsin Cairns, but there is no doubt that the realvictims of the cyclone were the primaryproducers—our sugar, banana and pawpaw

farmers. Their crop losses are estimated to bein the vicinity of $100m.

When the Premier and the EmergencyServices Minister came to Cairns we visited theSES headquarters and the Counter DisasterCoordination Centre. The people that I wouldparticularly like to mention are Sid Churchill,our senior district coordinator; Tom Spearman,the SES controller; Geoff Reynolds of theDisaster Coordination Centre; and JeffPezzutti. They all did a magnificent jobcoordinating the responses to calls. Therewere volunteers manning the phones.

The Cairns Marine Radio Club also playeda magnificent role assisting the AtlanticClipper, which, because it was caught out atsea in the cyclone, would have run agroundhad it not been for their assistance. There isno doubt that many, many people providedassistance, including people outside of thefront line of the SES, such as those atSunlover Cruises. At their own expense, theytransported some thousand stranded touristsfrom Palm Cove to Cairns. It was the only waythey could get to Cairns.

Time expired.

Reduced Speed Limits

Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—NPA)(7.25 p.m.): Tonight I wish to address the issueof the new speed limits for south-eastQueensland residential streets. At the outset, Isay that I totally support the reduction in thosespeed limits on residential streets to 50 km/h,and the coalition supports it also. However, theadvertising campaign for residential streetsspeed limits has been very badly handled.Once the three-month amnesty period hasexpired, I believe many people will not beaware of where the demarcation zone is forthe 50 km/h signs that will be erected, and alot of people are certainly going to beoutwitted, I suppose you could say, by thespeed cameras. The Minister has announcedthe introduction of 30 extra speed cameras at1,000 new sites throughout Queensland.People are certainly going to be hamperedwhen it comes to knowing exactly where thedemarcation zone is.

I call on the Minister, Steve Bredhauer, toextend that advertising campaign outsidesouth-east Queensland to let people inregional and rural Queensland know what thechanges are. With the introduction of the newlimits on 1 March, I heard him say on televisionthat it is probably only a matter of time beforewe see the inclusion of some of our regionalcentres in that 50 km/h speed zone in


residential areas, which again I also support.Far too many people are speeding in thoseresidential streets. They certainly are placeswhere many kiddies—and many elderlyfolk—take some time to cross roads. A lot ofkids play in streets, as we have all done in thepast. There is always that one motorist whotravels too quickly.

I know that everybody in this Housesupports road safety. We know that themeasure of 279 fatalities last year wascertainly a great record for this State, but it isstill far too high. If those 30 new cameras areintroduced at the conclusion of the trial period,people will be saying that it is a blatantrevenue-raising exercise. Revenue raising willcertainly be a feature if that advertisingcampaign is not presented in a better way.

The member for Nudgee raised the issueof speed zones around schools. This is a verycomplex issue. I think many people out thereask: why are we dropping speed limits? Whyare we increasing speed limits on some of ourrural roads? I think we are all well aware thatwith the engineering and design of the modernmotor car, higher speed certainly is somethingthat we can cater for. But at the same time,many people out there have to be aware ofthe population explosion here in south-eastQueensland. The number of cars that we dohave on our roads here in south-eastQueensland has also increased. At the sametime, we are trying to get the road toll down,and I congratulate the Queensland motoristand the Queensland pedestrian for playing avery important role in the recent reduction. Isee the Police Minister here in the Chamber. I

congratulate also the Queensland police forthe great role that they have played inconjunction with Queensland Transport inbringing about the reality of a reduction in theroad toll. I do not think I should fail torecognise anybody, because it really has beena team effort throughout the State.

I do say to the Minister: please give someconsideration to broadening this advertisingcampaign about the 50 km/h speed limit in thesouth-east, expanding the advertisingcampaign across the State and delaying theintroduction of new speed camera sites untilthe new 50 km/h speed limits have beenintroduced and are well bedded down. I thinkthat is fair comment.

Tonight I also wish to touch on the issueof road train routes throughout the State. Inotice that some roads have been included inType 2 road train routes. There has been alittle bit of misunderstanding by some truckiesas to where they can and cannot go. I say toQueensland Transport and to the Minister:please let your centres throughout the Stateknow so that truckies can be advised or anadvertising campaign can be put together asto the location of those upgraded routes. It iscausing embarrassment not only to the peoplein question—the transport inspectors or police,if they are apprehending these truckies—butalso to Queensland Transport itself. I do notthink that anybody would want to see thathappen. I call on the Minister——

Time expired.

Motion agreed to.The House adjourned at 7.30 p.m.