Government Access Centres
Page: 13642
Urgent Motion
Mr W. D. SMITH (South Coast) [3.32 p.m.]: I move:
That this House:
(1) notes the difficulties country communities face in accessing government services;
(2) congratulates the Government in announcing the opening of 38 new Government Access Centres by 2003; and
(3) expresses concern that the Federal Government has downgraded and underspent its Regional Solutions program and Rural Transaction Centres.
The Federal Government has failed country people yet again. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the National Party are all talk and no action. They continue to offer country people nothing but hollow and broken promises. This is highlighted by their attitude towards rural transaction centres. In the Herald and Weekly Times, a Victorian publication, on 28 February of this year the National Party Minister for Regional Services, Senator Ian Macdonald, said that his Government's promise to establish 500 rural transaction centres was "silly in the extreme". That election promise was made in 1998. This single statement shows how out of touch the National Party and the Federal Government are with regional areas.
Is it silly for regional people to expect the Federal Government to provide them with adequate access to services? I think not. But obviously John Anderson and Ian Macdonald think that is okay. Their resounding inaction on rural transaction centres shows that they are not taking country people seriously. Their track record on rural transaction centres speaks for itself. Senator Macdonald promised 500 of these centres. What has the Federal Government delivered? Members of this House will be astonished to learn how short of the target of 500 the Federal Government is. In fact, just 21 rural transaction centres have been opened around Australia since the program was started two years ago. That is a very dismal effort.
The Federal Government continues to massively underspend on services for country people. The Federal Government is two years into a five-year program and it has spent a miserly $7 million on rural transaction centres out of its $70 million budget. That demonstrates the lack of commitment of John Anderson and John Howard to country areas. Honourable members will recall that the Premier's mid-term address of 25 March this year contained a package of good news for country areas and country people. This comes about as a result of Country Labor members raising issues on behalf of their constituents and the Government adopting a hands-on approach by meeting on 30 different occasions in country areas—areas outside Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
The Premier announced in his address that 38 new government access centres would open around New South Wales. The National Party claims that the Premier made no announcement for country New South Wales in that address. I guess that proves that National Party members are fairly poor listeners. I fear that the Leader of the National Party has the Premier confused with his own Federal leader. In two years the Federal Government has been able to open only nine rural transaction centres in regional New South Wales.
What is the response of the New South Wales National Party to that assessment of its Federal colleagues? In six years we have heard little from the Leader of the New South Wales Nationals on regional development policy. Like their Federal colleagues, they are in a policy vacuum and are content to sit on the sidelines and watch. Perhaps a policy-free zone might be an appropriate phrase to use. Their performance is in stark contrast with the work that the New South Wales Government has done in regional development. It has a commitment to ensuring that country people have adequate access to services.
By June of 2003 there will be government access centres and government outreach centres all over this State. In addition to the original seven centres established in such places as Oberon and Nambucca heads, the 38 new government access centres will be located in places that need them most, including Wentworth in the State's southwest, Peak Hill in the Central West, and Ulladulla on the boundary of my electorate and the electorate of Bega. These small communities will now be able to access a range of State Government services. We will continue to consult with the broader community to find the best places for these centres.
Government access centres bring together the services of the Attorney General's Department, the Department of Fair Trading, the Department of Housing, the Department of Transport, New South Wales Fisheries and the Waterways Authority, amongst others. Each centre has been tailored to the needs of the individual community it serves. Under the government access program, country people will be able to access everyday services that city-based people take for granted. Things such as birth, death and marriage certificates, drivers licence renewals, fishing licences and rental assistance will now be readily available to the communities in which the centres are located. They are one-stop shops that offer face-to-face services that have disappeared in many other sectors.
In the country we have to overcome the tyranny of distance, and the centres will go a long way towards doing that for the constituents of all country communities. Instead of a recorded message telling callers what number to press, country people will now be able to deal face-to-face with service providers, real people. These centres are working, and they are working well. In his mid-term address the Premier gave the example of Dorrigo. The number of inquiries received by that government access centre is three times the population of the town. Since 1997 centres throughout the State have received more than 70,000 inquiries.
Government access centres are just one part of the State Government's broader plan for delivering customer services. In December last year in Goulburn the Minister for Regional Development launched the Staying in Town program. This program dedicated $6.5 million over three years to help promote and improve the wellbeing of people and communities in country New South Wales. The Staying in Town program is a response to what is seen in country areas. Country towns are losing their banks, post offices and Medicare outlets. The New South Wales Government wants to make sure that country people do not miss out on State Government services as well.
The Staying in Town program is part of the New South Wales Government's commitment to making a difference in country area—and it has. Government access centres have made government agencies available to country New South Wales. The New South Wales Government is committed to strengthening rural and remote communities by supporting them with strategic and targeted assistance. The Staying in Town program devotes resources to projects, not paperwork. Unlike the Federal Government, which is bogged down in administration, the New South Wales Government is working on the ground in regional communities.
Ian Macdonald's Regional Solutions program is supposed to provide $90 million to projects in country communities. This year the Federal Government is spending just $7.24 million, not even 10 per cent of that budget. Of that paltry amount, more than $2 million is being sucked away in administrative costs. The Federal Government is more interested in keeping the fat cats quiet than in helping country people. Clearly that is not good enough. Its Regional Solutions program is nothing more than a second-hand and second-rate copy of the New South Wales Government's policies on regional development.
John Anderson's new-found "local solutions to local problems" philosophy was taken straight out of Country Labor's textbook. Unfortunately for country communities, Mr Anderson does not share Country Labor's commitment to advancing rural and regional areas. The Federal Government's approach is misguided and simply wastes resources. Surely commonsense should dictate that Federal spending should not duplicate current State projects, yet time and again we hear of the Liberal-National Coalition wasting resources on projects that the New South Wales Government has already completed.
John Anderson and Ian Macdonald should hang their heads in shame. They have abandoned country people, but the New South Wales Government has taken a targeted and strategic approach to regional development. We will continue to work in partnership with local communities to achieve the best outcomes for regional areas. The Government access centres are part of the whole-of-government approach to making sure that country New South Wales is not left behind.
Mr ARMSTRONG (Lachlan) [3.42 p.m.]: I speak on behalf of the Opposition, and in doing so I move the following amendment:
That the motion be amended by leaving out all words after the word “That” with a view to inserting instead:
(1) notes the difficulties country communities face in accessing government services;
(2) calls on the Government to open 38 new Government Access Centres by 2003; and
(3) congratulates the Federal Government on its Regional Solutions program and Rural Transaction Centres."
Paragraph (1) is in accordance with the original motion. I am delighted to be able to join with the Government in highlighting the difficulties that country communities face in accessing rural services. After the honourable member for South Coast moved his motion I took some papers to four country members. Three have provided responses, including my colleague the honourable member for Lismore, who will speak in this debate later. It was staggering to read the responses from those members; they were spontaneous and non-rehearsed and they were not co-ordinated. The responses highlighted the difficulties that country communities have in accessing government services.
For instance, the responses highlighted the lack of police in stations such as Barmedman and Ungarie last year. Those two towns were without permanent police for more than 12 months—no police at all. In only the past 12 months a stock squad has been formed in this State despite the fact that the Government has been in power for 5½ years. In 1995, when the Government came to power, it promised it would transfer the responsibility for escorting prisoners from the Police Service to the Department of Corrective Services, but this simply has not happened.
In Lake Cargelligo, when police have to escort a prisoner to Parkes, which is a 2¼ hour trip, the return trip plus the time taken to process the prisoner take up a whole shift. That may happen three or four times each weekend during summer. In country areas, including the Central West, it takes up to three days for fingerprinting services to be provided. Businesses that have been the victim of a break and enter are asked to keep their premises closed until the fingerprint service can attend. Police are not available to go to schools to speak to schoolchildren in many places throughout the Central West.
In health services, one ophthalmologist operating in Forbes has a waiting list of 140 patients. And what did the State Government do? Instead of providing more funding it transferred 40 elderly patients with eye problems to Orange for treatment. People from as far afield as Grenfell, one hour and 40 minutes travel away, had to make their own way to Orange instead of to nearby Forbes. The patients were prepared to wait but, no, the State Government would not make funding available for this ophthalmology in Forbes.
A lot has been said about the Government's new regulations for freshwater and saltwater fishing. Where are the fishing inspectors in inland waterways? How many prosecutions have been launched under new Act? The administration of regional health facilities has been centralised. What about the old regional health facilities at Forbes, which were taken away by this Government? People in Forbes no longer have access to that government service. No inland fishing inspectors, no regional health facilities in Forbes, no fingerprinting services, no police in the important town of Barmedman. That town has two hotels and one club, but has had no police for 12 months.
Mr Speaker, you would be aware—as I know you were very conscious of the Olympic process from day one—that country people have seen $1.7 billion of their taxes spent in Sydney. Yet there has been not one attempt to give country people some compensation for money taken away from their road funding and infrastructure funding to build Olympic facilities in Sydney. Country people appreciate those facilities and recognise them as a community asset, but they expect a fair go. In shires such as Kyogle in the north, which I think is in the electorate of the honourable member for Lismore—
Mr George: Yes, my word it is.
Mr ARMSTRONG: —up to 300 bridges will not carry their prescribed weights. Umpteen reports have been received from western New South Wales that after a shower of rain of 40 millimetres most shire roads are impassable. What do the shires do? They put up "Road Closed" signs. Today in the town of Young one cannot make a rail booking except by telephone. The rail booking facilities in that town of 9,000 people have been taken away. Heavy truck registration has been a consistent problem since the Government came to power. Prior to each wheat harvesting season there is a cry for the provision of heavy truck registration facilities. Put simply, there are inadequate resources available to meet the requests of the public. I turn now to water.
[Interruption]
This is not a joke, gentlemen. Yesterday I received complaints from land-holders below Condobolin on the Lachlan River who do not have water for their livestock or for their domestic purposes, simply because of the mismanagement of the river. The Wallamundry and Wallaroi creeks have been let go dry. How are people supposed to water their cows? How are they supposed to get water for their homes? How are they supposed to keep their gardens in order? How are they supposed to grow fruit and vegetables?
The Minister, to his credit, responded this morning. But I point out that the Government's management has allowed a condition to occur in which people have lost a continuous water supply. One cannot pay $1,200 or $1,400 for a cow or calf today and run out of water tomorrow; the investment is too large, it is impractical. For personal reasons such as religion or conscience, people will not go into licensed premises to access a TAB office. And where are the TAB premises? They have disappeared out of towns such as Cowra, West Wyalong, Grenfell, and Canowindra. That means that those people are now isolated.
Mr Newell: Have you shares in the TAB?
Mr ARMSTRONG: No. Have you? You asked the question. If the cap fits, wear it. Placement in drug rehabilitation centres is a continual problem. The honourable member for Monaro made the point that bus and rail concessions for cardholders are almost non-existent in his electorate. He highlighted inadequate resources for the Police Service, hospital services, specialist medical procedures, dental services for pensioners and schoolchildren that are administered by the State Government, transport assistance schemes, the Roads and Traffic Authority heavy vehicle inspection services, and safe and adequate drinking water through town and country water and sewerage programs. The Government cut back the budget for water and sewerage programs from $86.5 million in 1995 to about $40 million. In the past 48 hours the Premier has made much of the allocation being increased to $65 million but it is still $25 million short of what was provided in 1995.
Crisis accommodation is not available in country towns for the people who are victims of domestic violence. Other outstanding matters are public housing, fair trading tribunals and fishing inspectorate services. The honourable member for Oxley said that primary production classes ceased at Wauchope TAFE this year. Six jobs have been cut from the Department Community Services Kempsey office and those officers have been transferred to helpline jobs in Parramatta. That does not help the people at Kempsey. Requests for police dog handlers for crime spots at Kempsey have been refused due to lack of resources. Kempsey urgently needs improved crime facilities but they are unavailable. As well, Nambucca only has a part-time police station.
The honourable member for Burrinjuck said there was no public transport in her electorate because CityRail services stop at Goulburn. I highlight also the unfair approach taken to ovine Johne's disease and the fact that many local public schools are seriously underresourced. For example, the Bigga school urgently needs airconditioning. Railway jobs in Goulburn have been seriously eroded over the past six years. It is a joke for the Government to say it has been maintaining country services when I have been able to demonstrate a litany of lost services suffered by country people at the hands of this Government. Country Labor in a sham, as I have highlighted today. [Time expired.]
Mr HICKEY (Cessnock) [3.52 p.m.]: It is with great pleasure that I support the motion moved by the honourable member for South Coast. Difficulties faced by country communities accessing government services are being addressed by Country Labor. The Carr Labor Government has made a commitment that 38 rural transaction centres will be opened by 2003. That is a vast improvement on the Federal Government's commitment to provide 500 rural transaction centres across Australia, whilst providing only 21, only nine of which are in New South Wales. If the National Party in this House were fair dinkum about addressing rural transaction centres and supplying services to the bush it would be down in Canberra urging the Federal Minister to establish the remaining 479 centres. The Carr Government is guaranteeing 38 by 2003. The Federal Government has failed rural and regional New South Wales.
National Party members criticise the New South Wales Carr Government but they appear to have forgotten the promise of the Federal Government. Senator Macdonald said it was silly in the extreme to have promised 500 centres. That shows the commitment of the Federal Government to country areas. People in rural Australia have the right to expect that promises made at election time will be delivered. The Carr Government follows through on its election promises. Country Labor is committed to providing services in rural areas, yet the National Party clearly does not support those services because it has criticised the Carr Government for establishing 38 centres whilst the Federal Government has delivered a mere nine.
The National Party's amendment clearly does not reflect the attitude of the Federal Government. The National Party is a mere tail on the dog nowadays and that is sad. It is disappointing that the Federal Government is content to play politics while country people suffer. The New South Wales Government will continue to work with communities to ensure that their needs are met. The provision of 38 new access centres will mean that smaller rural communities will have the same services that city people expect.
Mr Armstrong: That is a slow drip.
Mr HICKEY: The honourable member for Lachlan says that is a slow drip, even though John Anderson cannot deliver in regional areas. If the Carr Government's actions can be described as a slow drip, what would the provision of only nine centres by the Federal Government be described as? The Carr Government is providing four times the number of centres provided by the Federal Government. Country Labor can stand tall on this issue because it is looking after rural areas. Country Labor is not playing politics, unlike the National Party. Country Labor is delivering, while the National Party has done nothing at the Federal level to benefit country people. That shows the contempt in which the National Party and the Federal Government hold country people and services for them. It is a sad day indeed when the National Party bags the Carr Government for delivering those services.
Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [3.57 p.m.]: It is the height of arrogance for Country Labor to move this motion. I shall inform the House of the services that rural and regional areas have missed out on. The Carr Government has not made a commitment to country people. Yesterday the Carr Government indicated it would not lower payroll tax. Payroll tax in this State, especially in border areas, is costing jobs. Employers are penalised for employing people. so how can that help country New South Wales? Country Labor should stand up and be counted. Public transport is non-existent in country areas after 5.00 p.m. Students cannot travel to evening college because there is no public transport. Electricity infrastructure in country and regional areas in the north of the State is shocking, with some areas suffering from unreliable electricity services. Also, crisis accommodation is not available in country areas, even though it is needed. The Carr Government should provide that accommodation and Country Labor should stand up and be counted.
I know of cases where people have to travel three or four hours to access cancer and other medical treatment. The response times of police in country areas are not acceptable. In country areas police turn up the following day to investigate a break-in or other offences. Such delays are not acceptable. Since the call centres were centralised in Newcastle and Dubbo the problems with the triple-0 number have been disgraceful. Honourable members would have read reports about that during the past few months. The Department of Community Services cannot provide the services that are required in country and regional New South Wales. Where is the Government's commitment to handle the problems in country and regional areas? Yesterday I spoke about country showgrounds and country halls falling into disrepair. The communities do not know which way to turn. The honourable member for Tweed can laugh. His community needs help too, but he does not realise that.
Mr Newell: We haven't got a showground.
Mr GEORGE: No, you do not have a showground. Nearly every community in my electorate has written to me seeking support for the repair of their country halls. Where is State funding to match the Federal Roads to Recovery program to update our country roads so that people can travel to town without damaging their cars? We need support from the Carr Labor Government and Country Labor to get these regional services back into the areas that so desperately need them. Communities in the north need mental health services. I could go on for another 10 minutes. Sadly I have not got enough time. By moving this motion Country Labor is showing its arrogance and how far out of touch it is from the reality of what is happening at the grassroots level in country and regional areas. I support our amendment, which calls on the State Government to open 38 new government access centres by 2002. If Country Labor were serious about supporting people in country areas, it would do so.
Mr Hickey: We should match the Federal Government centres—nine.
Mr GEORGE: You should put your money where your mouth is and bring the project forward to 2002. What is the Government doing? It is replacing services that it earlier ripped out of country New South Wales. The Government is going back with an access service. Country Labor members cannot tell me that they will not be put on hold when they dial the access centre number. With every government department today people dial a number, press 9 for this and 6 for that, and half an hour to an hour later they are still being told what to do.
Mr Stewart: Ring Telstra. Ring 013 and see what happens.
Mr GEORGE: The honourable member for Bankstown should ring triple-0 and see what he is told. I can assure the honourable member for Bankstown that country people are sick and tired of being told that the Government is putting services back into New South Wales. I call on the Carr Government and Country Labor to give a commitment that they will attend to the services that regional and rural New South Wales are missing out on.
Mr NEWELL (Tweed) [4.02 p.m.]: I join my colleagues on this side of the House in debating this motion. The motion moved by the honourable member for South Coast deserves support. Unfortunately, members on the other side of the House have moved an amendment to the motion.
Mr Armstrong: We are with you about accessing country services. We are definitely with you there, all the way.
Mr NEWELL: I am pleased to hear that the honourable member for Lachlan is with us in regard to accessing government services. I am sure that he has noted some of the difficulties that country communities face in accessing government services. The difference is that this Government is doing something about it. We are prepared to move forward and provide further services and information to country people by opening 38 new government access centres by 2003. The amendment to the motion attempts to usurp the work of Country Labor and the Government in opening these 38 centres by calling on the Government to bring the project forward to 2002—just a little over six months away.
I assure the honourable member for Lachlan and the honourable member for Lismore that when the Government does something it does it right. The Government will ensure that the access centres are put in the appropriate areas and will provide the information and services that country people need. If this Government acted like the Federal Government—which has opened only 20 centres across Australia, although it promised about 500—on a percentage basis it would open 1.3 centres. But we are doing a great deal better than the Federal Government. We are opening 38 centres across New South Wales compared with the nine centres opened by the Federal Government. The Federal Government purports to run a number of programs across regional Australia.
We express our concern that the Federal Government has downgraded and underspent on its Regional Solutions program and its Rural Transactions Centres. As I said, it has opened only nine centres in New South Wales. Unfortunately, the Federal Government's Regional Development Policy program has been underfunded. It is doing very little for regional Australia. In my electorate of Tweed the Federal Government is funding the duplication of projects. It has magnanimously granted $100,000 to the area consultative committee to undertake an agricultural land study. But the New South Wales Government has already undertaken such a study.
I do not know what the area consultative committee is doing with the $100,000 or when we will hear its words of wisdom about the study. Regrettably, that project is a duplication of work. The Federal Government should work with the States, particularly when work has already been done by the States. That $100,000 represents a complete waste of valuable resources. The money could have been used for another worthy project in our area. The Federal Government should work closely with country communities and make sure that country people have decent access to services. The honourable member for Lismore referred to Trevor Wilson, a Department of State and Regional Development project officer in the Tweed.
In 1998 the Minister for Regional Development announced the Country Centres Growth Strategy to identify issues confronting business and industry and to develop plans for the future operation of businesses in the area. The strategy identified gaps in the industry base in the Tweed. More importantly, the strategy has assisted firms such as Black Watch Boats, which relocated from Queensland to the Tweed. The strategy assisted the transfer of the New South Wales Police Firearms Registry to Murwillumbah, which created 50 jobs. It also assisted the equine industry development at Tanglewood and Murwillumbah, which attracts a number of overseas students for training in the horseracing industry. In particular, the strategy addressed the Main Street-Small Town program, which operated in the area, and involved the community in projects to develop the economy and to generate jobs growth.
Mr George: No funding in your area for the consultative committee? You do not give credit where it is due.
Mr NEWELL: I will tell the honourable member for Lismore what Larry Anthony did not do for the equine industry up there. When the industry wanted to relocate, he would not make a phone call to his own Minister. The State Government and I worked together to relocate that industry, which is doing well. [Time expired.]
Mr W. D. SMITH (South Coast) [4.07 p.m.], in reply: I thank the honourable members representing the electorates of Tweed, Cessnock, Lismore and Lachlan for their participation in the debate. In response to interjections from members opposite about the new centres, I indicate that seven centres have already been opened across the State. Two more centres will be opened in Wentworth and Peak Hill by the end of June and our target is to open another eight centres by August. In response to interjections as to the location, the eight centres will be in Wilcannia, Coonamble, Cooma, West Wyalong, Hillston, Moree, Lightning Ridge and Ulladulla, which is on the border of my electorate. I encourage members opposite who want a centre in their electorate to stand up for their constituents and make their feelings known to the Government. Their requests might be successful.
For some time this Government has had a decentralisation policy for government agencies. As the honourable member for Tweed said, on 2 March 1999, 50 jobs were relocated from Sydney to the electorate of Tweed via the New South Wales Police Firearms Registry, which involved a relocation and part of a $3 million upgrade of registry services. Recently another 24 jobs were created by the relocation to Wellington of the Native Vegetation Office of the Department of Land and Water Conservation. The relocation of the Department of Local Government to my electorate will result in at least 60 extra pay packets for my community. The building of the structure to house those people will inject $7 million to $ 8 million into the local economy, and will create about 50 more building jobs.
WorkCover will relocate to Gosford, and the Superannuation Authority and the Infringement Processing Bureau will relocate to Wollongong. Country New South Wales will benefit from an extra 1,700 jobs. The Government will allocate $380 million over the next 10 years to upgrade the Princes Highway. We have asked the Federal Government to declare the Princes Highway a road of national importance and to allocate similar funding and provide us with an excellent highway to the Victorian border.
Mr Armstrong: Point of order: The motion relates to country services, but the honourable member mentioned Gosford, which has always been considered to be in the Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong orbital region, not in the country.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order.
Mr W. D. SMITH: It is quite clear that the Government is interested in promoting jobs and investment growth in regional New South Wales. We are putting our money where our mouth is to achieve that. The New South Wales Government and Country Labor have the runs on the board. Through a series of tailored programs we are targeting our assistance at areas that need it most. The Federal Government continues to ignore the problems of country people in accessing government services, but we are doing something about that in these 38 new centres that will be opened by 2003 and the Staying in Town Access Program. It is vital that all levels of government, industry and the community come together to enhance regional development. It is very disappointing that the Federal Government wants to play solitaire. It is a sad indictment of the Federal Government that it has spent only $7 million of its allocated $70 million to address problems in rural and regional New South Wales.
Question—That the words stand—put.
The House divided.
Ayes, 51
Ms Allan
Mr Amery
Ms Andrews
Mr Aquilina
Mr Ashton
Mr Barr
Mr Bartlett
Ms Beamer
Mr Black
Mr Brown
Miss Burton
Mr Campbell
Mr Crittenden
Mr Face
Mr Gaudry
Mr Gibson
Mr Greene
Mrs Grusovin | Ms Harrison
Mr Hickey
Mr Iemma
Mr Knowles
Mrs Lo Po'
Mr Lynch
Mr Markham
Mr Martin
Mr McBride
Ms Meagher
Ms Megarrity
Mr Mills
Ms Moore
Mr Moss
Mr Newell
Ms Nori
Mr Orkopoulos
Mr E. T. Page | Mr Price
Dr Refshauge
Ms Saliba
Mr Scully
Mr W. D. Smith
Mr Stewart
Mr Tripodi
Mr Watkins
Mr West
Mr Whelan
Mr Windsor
Mr Woods
Mr Yeadon
Tellers,
Mr Anderson
Mr Thompson |
Noes, 34
Mr Armstrong
Mr Brogden
Mrs Chikarovski
Mr Collins
Mr Debnam
Mr George
Mr Glachan
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard
Ms Hodgkinson
Mr Humpherson
Dr Kernohan | Mr Kerr
Mr Maguire
Mr McGrane
Mr Merton
Mr O'Doherty
Mr O'Farrell
Mr Oakeshott
Mr D. L. Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Richardson
Mr Rozzoli
Ms Seaton | Mrs Skinner
Mr Slack-Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Tink
Mr Torbay
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Mr Webb
Tellers,
Mr R. H. L. Smith
Mr Stoner |
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Amendment negatived.
Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.
The House divided.
Ayes, 51
Ms Allan
Mr Amery
Ms Andrews
Mr Aquilina
Mr Ashton
Mr Barr
Mr Bartlett
Ms Beamer
Mr Black
Mr Brown
Miss Burton
Mr Campbell
Mr Crittenden
Mr Face
Mr Gaudry
Mr Gibson
Mr Greene
Mrs Grusovin | Ms Harrison
Mr Hickey
Mr Iemma
Mr Knowles
Mrs Lo Po'
Mr Lynch
Mr Markham
Mr Martin
Mr McBride
Ms Meagher
Ms Megarrity
Mr Mills
Ms Moore
Mr Moss
Mr Newell
Ms Nori
Mr Orkopoulos
Mr E. T. Page | Mr Price
Dr Refshauge
Ms Saliba
Mr Scully
Mr W. D. Smith
Mr Stewart
Mr Tripodi
Mr Watkins
Mr West
Mr Whelan
Mr Windsor
Mr Woods
Mr Yeadon
Tellers,
Mr Anderson
Mr Thompson |
Noes, 34
Mr Armstrong
Mr Brogden
Mrs Chikarovski
Mr Collins
Mr Debnam
Mr George
Mr Glachan
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard
Ms Hodgkinson
Mr Humpherson
Dr Kernohan | Mr Kerr
Mr Maguire
Mr McGrane
Mr Merton
Mr O'Doherty
Mr O'Farrell
Mr Oakeshott
Mr D. L. Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Richardson
Mr Rozzoli
Ms Seaton | Mrs Skinner
Mr Slack-Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Tink
Mr Torbay
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Mr Webb
Tellers,
Mr R. H. L. Smith
Mr Stoner |
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Motion agreed to.