- Oct 24, 2019
MEDIA RELEASE - Govt fails to pass its dodgy Right to Farm Bill
In yet another embarrassing setback for Nationals Minister the Hon Adam Marshall MP, the NSW Government’s half-baked “right to farm” bill has failed to pass through to the final stages in the Legislative Council last night.
After having to amend their own bill to get it through the Legislative Assembly because it was so poorly drafted the first time, the Government is understood to have been negotiating even more amendments on the amended bill as late as yesterday evening.
- Oct 23, 2019
MEDIA RELEASE - NSW Labor introduces its own Right to Farm Bill
NSW Labor has this afternoon moved to introduce its own Right to Farm (Farming Families Protection) Bill in the NSW Parliament Lower House.
This will guarantee family-owned farms in regional NSW are protected from trespassers, enforced by strict penalties.
Labor’s Bill seeks to apply the State’s safe access zones mechanism – laws that were specifically drafted to apply to protests outside abortion clinics, as a model to protect farmers from protestors.
Unlike the Nation
- Oct 18, 2019
MEDIA RELEASE - Nats playing on farmers' anxieties to distract from failures on dams and breedin
The NSW Opposition has accused the NSW Nationals of adding to farmers‘ anxieties in the middle of a drought – to try and distract from their own failure to build a new dam in a decade.
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Jenny Aitchison said today: “The Nationals are rattled because they’ve left farmers high and dry in the middle of a drought.“
“For the past decade the Nationals have promised dams and not delivered them.”
“As Alan Jones has pointed out this week, the w
- Feb 15, 2017
Retail Leases Amendment (Review) Bill 2016
I lead for the Opposition on the Retail Leases Amendment (Review) Bill 2016. At the outset I will highlight the Opposition's concern at the lack of consideration the Government has given to key stakeholders in this legislation. After three years of consultation, negotiation and debate on this bill stakeholders were ambushed on 8 November when the Minister came into this place and dumped this legislation before the House. Many of them were preparing for the busiest six weeks o
- Oct 18, 2016
Child Protection (Working With Children) and Other Child Protection Legislation Amendment Bill 2016
I speak to the Child Protection (Working With Children) and Other Child Protection Legislation Amendment Bill 2016. I thank the shadow Minister for her contribution to this particular debate. The bill contains a package of amendments to legislation relating to child protection, employment and education proposed by the Office of the Children's Guardian, which was established by the Carr Government in 1998 with the passage of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection)
- Sep 20, 2016
Land and Property Information NSW (Authorised Transaction) Bill 2016
History is made by those who turn up and it is interesting to note that many from the other side of the House were not motivated to turn up. Again it is a symbol of their arrogance and the shambolic nature of their business. I oppose the Land and Property Information NSW (Authorised Transaction) Bill 2016. With this bill we see a government led only by its privatisation ideology—its desire to privatise all that the people of New South Wales hold dear. We see the Baird-Grant L
- Sep 20, 2016
Fair Trading Amendment (Commercial Agents) Bill 2016
I contribute to the debate on the Fair Trading Amendment (Commercial Agents) Bill 2016. Let us be clear, people who owe money are often the most vulnerable in the community. As previously stated by the members for Granville, Swansea, Wyong and the Blue Mountains, all members have a responsibility to protect the rights of the vulnerable in our community—those with mental health issues, addiction issues, those suffering housing stress, homelessness and illness. Often the most v
- Sep 14, 2016
Scrap Metal Industry Bill 2016
The Scrap Metal Industry Bill 2016 has been designed to provide regulation of the scrap metal industry through the installation of appropriate prohibitions, registration requirements and other regulatory measures to provide greater transparency, accountability and oversight for the industry. This is because the scrap metal industry has to date been largely unregulated, making it an extremely attractive avenue for criminals to make quick cash. The industry operates largely by
- Aug 23, 2016
Greyhound Racing Prohibition Bill 2016
I have experienced many moments in my life that have made me proud to be a member of the Australian Labor Party. Tonight I have experienced one of those moments— albeit we have been here for more than a moment. As I sat on the Opposition benches supporting the Leader of the Opposition as he took the time to articulate the Labor Party's extensive objections to the bill before the House, I was in awe of his passionate defence of the many working people in our community who part
- Aug 3, 2016
Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Bill 2016
I speak in opposition to the Local Government Amendment (Governance and Planning) Bill 2016. The Baird Government has promised on numerous occasions both publicly and in this place to reform local government, and in every case and every way it has failed to deliver. The Government has failed the local communities of this State. Within the Hunter there are four councils in stasis and unsure of their future. They are unsure of their future direction or composition and are waiti