Inaugural Speeches

Mr HICKEY (Cessnock) [11.34 a.m.] (Inaugural speech): I am honoured to represent my party and my electorate of Cessnock in the New South Wales State Parliament. Today is a very significant day for me: it is the occasion of my first speech in the oldest and one of the most important parliaments in Australia. I take this opportunity to give recognition and credit to those who have greatly helped me in my successful campaign at the recent polls. First and foremost is my wife, Nadine. Nadine held the fort, and singlehandedly looked after our three children, Arna, Britt and Gareth. She was there to doorknock with me. She was an optimistic sounding board. When times were tough she was there to support me. To Nadine I offer my heartfelt thanks.

Second, I sincerely thank my joint campaign directors - my predecessor, Mr Stan Neilly, the former member for Cessnock and the Hon. Bob Brown, the former Federal member for Charlton. Their expertise, know-how and friendship is and always will be treasured. I hope I can be as good a member as Stan Neilly; he was an excellent member for Cessnock and knew his job well. He was held in high regard not only by his electorate but also by all of his colleagues. It is a great privilege to have read Mr Neilly’s inaugural speech and to learn where his first concerns lay. I was astonished to read that he was most concerned that the Government was not employing or encouraging the employment of apprentices and about the impact this would have in general on the youth of New South Wales. He recognised that if apprenticeships were increased they would provide opportunities for the youth and benefits would flow through to rural and regional New South Wales.

I am proud that on the second day of this Parliament Mr Carr launched the legislation to provide tax concessions for employers of apprentices in New South Wales. A total of 4,000 apprentices employed under group schemes already benefit from the concession, whilst the scheme presented yesterday will provide concessions for a further 38,000 apprentices in New South Wales. The scheme, which will commence on 1 July this year, will save employers around $4 million each year and will apply to existing apprentices. The bill not only assists employers of apprentices; it also provides all employers with a reduction in payroll tax to 6.4 per cent. The Treasury expects that this will create up to 5,000 new jobs and benefit 20,000 companies. It is great that the Carr Government is going into its second term and that its election pledge to create new jobs will get up.

Third, I extend thanks to all the workers in my campaign teams, and to those who manned the campaign offices. Those who worked on the campaign worked particularly hard. I make special mention of Mr Fred Brown and Mr Owen Partridge, who are Cessnock branch members and grassroots Labor men tried and true. They stuck by me through thick and thin. One cannot forget our leader, Mr Carr, and the gallant way in which he led from the front. I thank Mr Carr for all he has done for me and the Labor movement. My vote of 72.6 per cent is attributable to Mr Carr and the determination and effort he put into the Labor campaign. All the people I have mentioned are truly great people. I will always pay tribute to great Labor people because of what they stand for and because of the fact that Labor would never turn its back on its heartland.

I was born and raised in one such Labor heartland. It was a small rural community village called Paxton, west of Cessnock. It was a great place to live. I was more fortunate than the youth of today. In that small rural community I had not only my parents but hundreds of parents, as everyone looked after the kids. They took a vested interest in all children. They nurtured the potential that burned
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in each and every child. There was always someone there to keep the kids on the right path, or someone who could drag an unwilling child back to the right side of the tracks. Some people look on their childhood with disdain. I do not. I look at my childhood and sometimes wish it had never ended. My wife thinks it has not.

My father was a miner and the breadwinner in our family, as in those days mothers usually did not work. My father was cavelled-out in the 1960s and did many jobs in the timber industry - at that time it was a flourishing industry - before finally obtaining a job as a truck driver at Allandale Hospital. My mother went into the work force when I was eight years old, so I know what it is like to be called a latchkey kid. I can relate to the issues, the dilemmas and the dramas that latchkey kids have to deal with. I also recognise the problems associated with parenting children.

I attended school in Cessnock, obtained my school certificate and could not leave school quickly enough. I took up an apprenticeship at BHP, Newcastle. I was an adventurous young man. I went out on my own as a tradesman and I left the safety net of that big company to obtain more skills for my trade. However, in 1983 I was caught up in the downturn in the heavy metal industries. I and a number of my colleagues were looking down the barrel of retrenchment. I turned to the milk industry and became a milko for the next 16 years. Throughout that period I held various positions in the Hunter Valley Milk Vendors Association and was active within that organisation. I held the positions of delegate, vice-president, president and State franchise councillor.

In recent years I have watched the deregulation of the milk industry with horror. To all those who would listen I and others have explained that deregulation was not in the public interest. This has only just been realised by most people in New South Wales. They realise that prices will not drop and that the only changes to the price structure will be forced on them by those who can effectively drive down the cost, namely, the supermarkets. They say that they are cutting out inefficiencies in the industry, but the milk vendors still continue in their trade. Industry recognises the important role that milk vendors play and the great marketing tools that they are and will be for a considerable time. As the member for Cessnock I now stand as a voice for the community and for my electorate.

I am unable to understand why the price of coal is falling when there is more demand than supply. The demand is evident from the number of ships sitting outside the port of Newcastle. Mineworkers are currently being told that their future lies in them becoming more productive. However, in the last 15 years of production growth has never been lower than 5 per cent per annum. That is more than double the national average. In 1997 the production growth in Queensland and New South Wales was 22 per cent. What has been the reward for mineworkers? Their rewards have been continual rounds of retrenchments and longer working hours. Rather than retrenchments being the last order of the day, they are now the first order of the day for most mine managements. The vast amount of dollars that the Government has collected from these workers and communities has kept New South Wales in good stead for many years.

The heart is currently being torn out of many rural communities as each job lost from the mining industry multiplies with further job losses in the region. My electorate is copping it at both ends. We are suffering a downturn in manning levels in the coal industry and the closure of BHP is having an effect on jobs. We, as a community, are suffering in silence. Our unemployment rate is high, and the one light on our horizon is an industrial estate which is currently being pushed by Cessnock City Council. The State Government can play a leading role by allowing this project to come to fruition and by helping the council in its funding and planning procedures. I am glad that the Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Hunter Development is present in the Chamber, as I will be calling on him to help with these planning procedures. There are many paths to go down and a lot of doors to knock on if a project of this size is to come to fruition. I hope that by the end of this parliamentary term this industrial estate will be established in my electorate. Like all other honourable members, I want the best for my electorate.

The police issue, an issue which was raised at the last election, has been a big concern throughout the Cessnock electorate. Detectives from Cessnock have been clustered to operate from Maitland. That might seem like a great and commonsense idea, but every time a case is heard at Cessnock it takes police officers 30 minutes to travel to Cessnock and 30 minutes to travel back. Is this an effective and efficient utilisation of our resources, especially when the Cessnock corrective centre has been upgraded to maximum security? Many people in our community are concerned about the police issue. One of these concerns is that the holding bays for offenders in Cessnock police station have extremely poor visual aspects. Cessnock police station is also in poor condition. [Extension of time agreed to.]

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The biggest problem and a matter of major concern is that offenders have to walk from the station to the adjacent courthouse for hearings. It is not cricket when police stations at Maitland, Port Stephens, Wallsend and Newcastle all have corrective service prisoner officers looking after the holding bays, while Cessnock has to utilise the few police it has on hand to do this job. In 1990 the 24-hour manning levels at Singleton station were looked upon favourably by the then Minister for Police, Mr Pickering. In 1991 he rescinded his direction immediately after the election.

In 1995 the Minister for Police, the Hon. Paul Whelan, visited Singleton and spoke to the mayor and general manager of Singleton council. In essence, the Minister committed the Government to progressively moving towards 24-hour policing without stipulating a specific timetable. The recognition and fulfilling of that commitment is vital. We must get the right transport infrastructure throughout the Cessnock electorate. By that I mean that we must understand the transport structure and the complex transport problems facing the community. Cessnock council has been given an assurance that it will have its bypass around the town by the year 2002. I hope that project comes to fruition. I know also that the Kurri Kurri corridor - it is known as the Seahampton to Branxton link from the F3 to the New England Highway - is of paramount importance to all persons in my electorate.

The lack of rail transport in the city of Cessnock is a problem. I have a vision of a rail corridor extending all the way to Pokolbin vineyards, which could be utilised effectively by many tourists. The local media in my electorate has recently referred to an assault by youths in Kurri Kurri park. This problem is related to alcohol and youth. I am currently working with the Minister for Gaming and Racing, the Hon. Richard Face, to negotiate an accord to deal with this problem. But the problem is not restricted to the confines of my electorate; it is a real problem throughout rural and regional areas. That is why Labor is keen to push jobs, jobs, jobs, to try to overcome the problem of youth boredom and low self-esteem.

There are many problems throughout my electorate, but the most dramatic one would be the lack of economic diversification and the way that communities are trying to overcome the past and embrace that diversification. That is something rural and regional New South Wales has to do so that there will always be jobs. The Government has established task forces to deal with this problem and it has made a commitment to implement tax concessions, so most of our concerns are already in hand and will be adequately addressed. I make a commitment to the people in my electorate to work with them and to obtain the best possible outcome for them. As a grassroots member I am and always will be accessible to all the people in my electorate. I will also attempt to obtain as many benefits as possible for my electorate.

Mr BARR (Manly) [11.50 a.m.] (Inaugural speech): It is a great privilege to represent the electorate of Manly in this Chamber. It is often said that Manly is seven miles from Sydney, a thousand miles from care. In fact, it is said so often that I will not repeat it. The boundaries of the Manly electorate extend from the southern end of North Head up to Curl Curl to the south of Dee Why. Manly is a special part of the world, as millions of interstate and overseas visitors will attest. Many people from the Sydney metropolitan areas visit Manly every weekend, particularly in summer. This small geographical area, particularly in comparison to the size of other electorates, has a varied topography that includes isthmuses, peninsulas, headlands, ocean beaches, Manly Cove and Manly Dam, which creates all sorts of interesting environmental and urban planning issues.

This is the third election in a row in which the seat of Manly has been won by an Independent. The first time, in 1991, Dr Peter Macdonald defeated a sitting Minister, and Dr Macdonald retained the seat in 1995. This time I won as an Independent and it is fair to say that Manly has become a blue ribbon Independent seat. The electorate of Manly is proud to be represented by an Independent, and I am honoured and proud to continue that tradition. The fact that many electors wanted an Independent was an important and favourable feature of my campaign. The major parties should take note that the election of Independents will become a trend in many electorates in the future.

Dr Macdonald was an outstanding and highly respected representative for Manly for eight years. I am indebted for the goodwill that he created during those years. His success was due in no small measure to his open-door policy, his high level of integrity, his moral courage and his well-considered position on many issues. His endorsement of me as his successor greatly benefited my campaign.

I thank the community groups who supported my campaign - Dee Why Residents Action Group, Manly Vale Residents Action Group, Harbord Safety First Committee, Residents and Friends of Manly and Brookvale Valley Community Group. An Independent cannot win against the big players
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without volunteers. I especially thank the 250-plus volunteers who worked on my campaign. They were prepared to work long, hard hours to get an Independent elected. They handed out leaflets and conducted mail drops. To give an example of the logistical difficulties, my campaign office conducted a direct mail drop to 44,000 electors. Only the localities of voters were able to be accessed from the system, so 44,000 leaflets were sorted firstly into streets and then into addresses and were then hand delivered. That is how Independents win. The major parties cannot often boast about that kind of community support.

I especially thank my family - my wife, Elizabeth; my elder son, William; my younger son, Christopher; and my daughter, Annalisa. Going into the election campaign my initial impulse was to quarantine my family from the hurly-burly and the slings and arrows. However, they thrived on the campaign; they enjoyed it and worked hard. I am deeply indebted to them for their continuous support. That support is terribly important.

I want to traverse a number of local issues, many of which would be relevant to other electorates. The first issue is the need for improved transport, particularly improved public transport. I am dismayed that an application is to be submitted to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for an increase in public transport fares. Good public transport makes a city great. Without an efficient and reliable public transport a city suffers. That is evident in many overseas cities, and Sydney is also suffering. Externalities should be taken into account when considering fare increases. I know that government departments have to work to budgets, but in their decisions about public transport they do not factor in the externalities, such as the infrastructure required for extra cars on the road if there are not enough buses.

Somewhere along the line we must become more sophisticated in our economic reckoning of costs to be factored in. A decrease in the provision of public transport means an increase in costs for road infrastructure and air pollution evasion measures. Members know that 80 per cent of the air pollution in Sydney is caused by motor vehicle emissions. There must be a big push for public transport. Sydney has a strong need for improved public transport, as do my electorate and the northern beaches.

A further issue is the provision of affordable housing. Manly is becoming a wealthy area; in the past year real estate prices have soared. People on lower incomes are having difficulty finding affordable housing and councils do not have the means to deal with the issue. The State Government and local councils need to have a better working relationship in terms of the provision of affordable housing. Manly is one of the few areas on the northern peninsula with boarding houses. Boarding houses have served a great social purpose by providing people on lower incomes with a roof over their heads. However, those boarding houses are now being transformed into tourist accommodation for backpackers. That process comes at a social cost. To be vibrant and dynamic a community requires a mix of people. It should not be an enclave for the wealthy. A community needs a housing mix that accommodates all people.

The drug issue is an important matter for the Manly electorate, as it is for all electorates. When I refer to the drug issue I mean legal and illegal drugs. The criminal activities and antisocial and aggressive acts that result from alcohol consumption are an ongoing problem in the area. On any given night half of the police work involves alcohol-related criminal activity. We must not lose sight of the fact that the drug issue also involves the impact of alcohol.

I welcome the Premier’s initiative in calling the summit. I was especially pleased that was done before the election, as it pulled the issue away from what would have been a debased debate during the election campaign. Now that the summit is to proceed next week, I hope that significant progress will be made and that members of Parliament will have the courage to support the necessary remedies. Nationwide two young people each day die from drug overdoses, and in New South Wales I understand that the figure is roughly half of that number. Current policies have failed and it would be morally bankrupt to persist with them. The drug problems must be addressed seriously. I hope that the approach to the summit will be depoliticised and that honourable members will realise the social function they must perform to bring about drug reform.

Manly is a water-based electorate with water surrounding it. Water quality issues are therefore of extreme importance to the region. No-one has yet come to terms with the total catchment management policy. Manly Dam is a freshwater dam and the new housing development on the Ardel site will unduly impact upon the region. Traditionally the issue of total catchment management has not been taken into account. Proper consideration has not been given to the impact of what happens upstream on the area downstream. Curl Curl Lagoon and Manly Lagoon are highly polluted and are not suitable for primary contact. One swims in them at one’s own risk.

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I have always regarded the deepwater ocean outfall as being only a temporary fix. It was never a satisfactory solution to simply pump sewage a couple of kilometres out to sea rather than a couple of hundred metres out to sea. The Manly community is concerned about the Northside Storage Tunnel, which is regarded as an engineering fix to a problem that should be tackled in a more decentralised manner. The community is concerned that the storage tunnel will entrench the sewage treatment plant at North Head. I hope that in the medium term a more decentralised system will be introduced.

I should discuss in more detail the issues related to North Head and local government-State Government relations. The North Head site involves complex matters, and I shall run through the details briefly. North Head is a site of historical, natural and cultural significance. It is the gateway to Sydney Harbour and contains items of national historic importance. North Head is the home of a diverse array of native flora and endangered fauna. It is covered by large tracts of remnant bushland, some of which is classified as national park. Other parts of the site are privately owned or government-owned. The natural environment includes some of the last habitats of endangered species such as the long-nosed bandicoot and fairy penguins. The area has a colony of fairy penguins, some of which come up the harbour, clamber up a flight of about 100 stairs of a home unit block, waddle along the road and then go down to the undercroft of a house, where they nest. That is something of a secret, but most residents are aware of it. The fairy penguins are noisy and smelly creatures, but are quite charming and need to be protected. [Extension of time agreed to.]

The future of various sites on North Head is uncertain: the School of Artillery, the Quarantine Station, the police college, Manly Hospital and the St Patrick's estate. A number of stakeholders are involved with the sites: the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Commonwealth Sydney Harbour Foreshore Trust - which does not seem to be clear on who owns the old artillery site, whether it is Federal or State - the Catholic Church, which owns the St Patrick's estate; the Department of Health, which has control over Manly Hospital; Sydney Water; Manly Council; and private residential owners.

The St Patrick's estate is one of the key sites on North Head. It is the cradle of Catholicism in Australia and contains grand seminary buildings that are listed on the National Estate. The original seminary, Moran House, was leased to private operators in 1995 for the purposes of a hospitality school. The church, assisted by major developers Lend Lease, has plans to develop up to 400 homes on the site. That will impact on threatened species, on open space and on the amenity of North Head generally. In court proceedings Manly Council has succeeded in reducing the development by about 50 per cent.

How many great national estates does Australia have? Can honourable members imagine that any European countries would allow the national estate to be developed for housing? At one of the court hearings two photographs were tendered as evidence. One was a photograph of Kings Chapel from across the fields and the other of Moran House from across the fields. An oval in the area is proposed for development. Would the United Kingdom allow an area such as Kings Chapel to be used for housing development? That is what is being allowed to occur on one of these great national sites. That is a terrible shame. One of the matters that puts the area at even greater risk is State Environmental Planning Policy 5. Schedule 1 of that SEPP would allow the estate to be used for housing for the aged and disabled. That means housing for wealthy people who are 55 years and older.

The Quarantine Station has been a multi-cultural gateway to Australia for more than 150 years. It remains intact because it has been kept something of a secret; it is almost in its original state. There are plans to commercialise the site by signing a head lease with a private contractor for 44 years. That amounts to a de facto sell-off. Such a long head lease would virtually mean loss of control of that site for that period, and in the intervening years who knows what will happen. Head leases of such a lengthy period have a long tradition of lessees applying for extensions when things do not work out as was intended, or when they are so successful that they require more buildings.

Although Australia has the great folklore of the outback, it is very much a maritime nation. The Quarantine Station reflects that maritime history. It is a shame that this is not acknowledged. I venture to suggest that very few people know much about the nation’s maritime history. The maritime museums have a few interesting old boats, but no-one knows a great deal of the history and the stories that have been told about people who came to this country in the nineteenth century, some of whom perished at South Head after sailing thousands of miles from the United Kingdom.

The last issue on which I shall touch is State Government-local government relations. I was pleased that the Minister for Local Government
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allowed for a 2.4 per cent rate cap, which is above the consumer price index. I point out that we are in robust economic times and that wages have increased by about 5 per cent while the CPI has increased by 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent. A great proportion of the costs to be met by councils relates to wages. The revenue recovered in rates by Manly Council just covers wages. Of course the council has other sources of income. There must be a more sophisticated way of determining an appropriate funding arrangement and what the State Government will allow councils to do in determining rate increases.

In conclusion I point out, as an example of the impost that State governments are placing on local council areas, that there is a slather of statutes, all very worthy, but all of which require councils to do things; in other words, a cost is imposed on councils without adequate funding being made available. For example, the Waste Minimisation and Management Act, the Threatened Species Conservation Act, the Local Government (Ecologically Sustainable Development) Act 1997, the Contaminated Land Management Act, the Companion Animals Act, the Protection of the Environment Administration Act, the Clean Waters Act, the Noxious Weeds Act all require local councils to do things. They have to use staff, they have to find them, but no funding is available to do that. Many of these are very worthy, but unless there is an appropriate funding mechanism it will not happen. I look forward to the next four years and representing the people of Manly. I have an open-door office policy and people can come in at any time, although my staff jealously guard the diary - I am not allowed to touch it. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to this great Chamber.

[Debate interrupted.]