No images? Click here NEWSLETTERWELCOMEThe outbreak of coronavirus has had an enormous impact, with severe restrictions enforced on individuals, businesses and services to reduce the spread. Whilst these are very uncertain times, I ask that people remain calm, be conscious of how easily this virus is spreading, and be mindful of your hygiene. Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water. Please stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary for you to be elsewhere. If you are in a public setting, ensure that you practise social distancing and be kind and respectful to other people. I want to particularly thank the doctors, nurses, emergency services and support staff across Victoria in hospitals, aged care facilities, clinics and outreach services for all of their work in such exceptionally demanding and challenging circumstances. I also wish to acknowledge how difficult this period is proving for most businesses and their employees, especially those that have already been forced to close and that have lost their jobs. If you are a business owner or operator in need of advice or support, please call the dedicated Business Victoria coronavirus hotline on 13 22 15 – or, if you need information in relation to unemployment assistance, please start at this page: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/jobseeker-payment. Further coronavirus-related advice and support for all Victorians is available through https://www.australia.gov.au/ and https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus. The https://headtohealth.gov.au/covid-19-support page also offers a range of useful advice, and links to further resources, for anyone specifically in need of emotional or psychological support at this time. My office continues to operate, but with restrictions on walk-in traffic. You can contact the office by phone on (03) 4700 1787 or by emailing tania.maxwell@parliament.vic.gov.au. In the meantime, I hope that you all stay safe and remain in good health. - Tania Expanding evidence in child abuse casesI have stepped up my calls to protect victims of child abuse, moving a motion in Parliament to expand evidence and make sex offenders’ histories known to juries. We have an opportunity to reform the justice system to further protect children and bring accountability to predatory offenders. The current thresholds of evidence are denying justice for victims by withholding from juries important evidence of offenders’ sexual interest in children and related criminal histories. SPEECHES IN PARLIAMENTK9TEACH pet therapyIn possibly a first for Parliament, I delivered a speech as a poem – to ask the Government for funding of the K9TEACH education program. This speech was timed to mark World Poetry Day on 21 March. The K9TEACH program was delivered at Yarrunga Primary School in Wangaratta in 2018 and 2019 with inspirational and positive outcomes, including improved student attendance and behaviour. The program was not funded for 2020 and I have asked the Minister for Education to re-fund the program from 2021. Drug rehabilitationRecently, an offender was bailed on the basis of entering a drug rehabilitation facility, despite opposition from police, only for the offender to abscond when the bed was not available. I suggested to the Corrections Minister that, if an offender is bailed to a drug rehabilitation program, they should always continue to be detained until they are able to be released directly to the facility running the program. This is also surely even more obvious given there are currently critical shortages in such services across Victoria. Call to fund sensory play equipment for CorryongSensory play equipment is vital in supporting children with special needs. Given the challenges faced by the Corryong community during and after the recent bushfires, I highlighted Corryong College’s need for a dedicated sensory play space. A $200,000 investment is required, and such a relatively small investment would be of great benefit to these children. Ambulance response timesI raised with the Ambulance Services Minister a number of troubling issues in the case of a Myrtleford resident, who called an ambulance in February for what was later diagnosed as the life-threatening condition of a strangulated hernia. On advice of the long wait for an ambulance after her first call, this patient was transported by a friend to Alpine Health where she (unsuccessfully, while in significant pain) tried to make clear to staff that the request for the ambulance needed to be cancelled. Following triage at Alpine Health, another ambulance was then called to transport her to North East Health Wangaratta. It ultimately took more than three hours in total for her to reach the hospital at Wangaratta, and to receive the specific clinical help she needed for her condition. Kinglake bushfire grantsI am concerned that grants in respect of previous bushfires have still not yet been delivered correctly. In the process of bushfire recovery, it is critical that works are completed in full, on time, and to a high standard, so that local councils and ratepayers are not left with the burden of repairs in years to come. I asked the Government to reimburse Murrindindi Shire Council, who spent $300,000 on replacing the badly cracked surfacing of the Kinglake netball courts, as well as to commit ongoing funding to operate the Kinglake Youth Centre in line with commitments made by the then State Government after Black Saturday in 2009. Bushfire related infrastructureCouncils need support to ensure local firefighting assets don't remain in a state of disrepair. I raised these issues in Parliament last year prior to the devastating summer bushfires – but, last week, added to this by asking the Treasurer how much the Government has collected from local councils through the Fire Services Levy since 2014, and how much the Government has given back to those councils specifically to upgrade bushfire related infrastructure. The sale and supply of illegal tobaccoA total of 2.1 million kilograms of illicit tobacco (more than 14% of the country's entire tobacco market) were consumed in Australia in 2018. I raised with the Police Minister the problem that trade in this product in some Northern Victorian towns seems to go largely unchecked, with raids often appearing to be futile and operators resuming trade almost immediately. Addressing gaps in the system could improve enforcement of restrictions, including strengthening warrants and developing clearer collaboration between agencies. BILLS DEBATED IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL- Health Services Amendment (Mandatory Vaccination of Healthcare Workers) Bill 2020: passed |