Thursday was a busy day for private members’ business with two orders for papers agreed to, four bills introduced and four new committee inquiries established. Under the new sessional orders, motions can be taken as ‘short form’ motions which limits debate to 30 minutes. As 10 items were taken as short form, the House was able to consider 13 private members’ items on Thursday.

ORDERS FOR PAPERS

Two members moved motions for orders for papers on the following matters:

In addition to the motions for orders for papers, the following motions were moved by seven members:

RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS (Mr Latham, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation) – The motion as originally moved called on the Government to support freedom of religion as per Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also sought Government support for the right of workers to express political, cultural and religious opinions in their private time, away from their place of work, without suffering employment penalties. The motion raised concerns about the position taken by Rugby Australia in relation to Israel Folau’s expression of his religious views, and stressed the importance of sporting participation and access to public sporting grounds regardless of political, cultural or religious opinions.

Speakers from the Government and Opposition spoke in support of human rights and religious freedoms.  Mr Searle (ALP) moved amendments to remove all reference to Israel Folau and Rugby Australia.

The Opposition amendments were agreed to on Division (26:6). The motion as amended was agreed to.

CONDOLENCE REGARDING MR MILTON MORRIS AO (Mr Martin, The Liberals) – The motion notes with sadness the death of Mr Milton Morris AO, former member for Maitland and passes on the condolences of the House to Mr Morris’ family and friends and the Maitland community members who remember his passion for the region. The motion was agreed to on the voices.

LAND CLEARING AND BIODIVERSITY LAWS (Mr Field, Independent) – The motion notes native vegetation land clearing rates significantly increased across the State immediately prior to the introduction of the 2017 Biodiversity Reform and that aspects of the reform package remain incomplete. The motion calls on the Government to commit to up to date reporting on native vegetation clearing in New South Wales and report to the Legislative Council by 30 June 2019 on a timeframe for implementation of the biodiversity reform. The Government did not support the motion stating that the clearing referred to in the motion occurred under the old laws and that the government was working to fully implement the reforms with most of the significant elements in place. The motion was agreed to on Division (19:18).

LOCAL COUNCIL EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVY (Mr Primrose, ALP) – The motion notes that the additional payments to be collected from councils and insurers to fund the expanded emergency services agencies levy from 1 July 2019 will impact councils and local communities. It calls on the House to support the call by Local Government NSW and local councils for the Government to fund the first twelve months of the levy and work with local governments to ensure the implementation of the funding mechanism is fairer into the future. The motion was agreed to on Division (22:16). The Government opposed the motion stating it would continue to take all necessary steps to support emergency services personnel to reduce overall health risks faced in the course of their work.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY (Ms Faehrmann, The Greens) – The motion notes that 5 June is World Environment Day with this year’s theme being “Beat Air Pollution”. The motion calls on the House to thank all local, state and national organisations, communities, individuals and others who work tirelessly to protect and care for the environment in New South Wales. The Government did not support the motion but did state that it will always support compliance with national standards and the protection of the environment. The motion was agreed to on the voices.

COMMITTEES

Two new committee inquiries were referred on the following issues:

OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE NORTHERN BEACHES HOSPITAL COMMIITEE REFERRAL (Mr Secord, ALP) – The motion, which was agreed to on the voices, refers to Portfolio Committee No. 2 an inquiry into the operation and management of the Northern Beaches Hospital. (See Hansard for full details of the committee reference).

USE OF BATTERY CAGES FOR EGG PRODUCCING HENS COMMITTEE REFERRAL (Ms Hurst, Animal Justice Party) – The motion establishes a select committee to inquire into and report on the use of battery cages for hens in the egg production industry. (See Hansard for full details of the committee reference). A Government amendment to refer the inquiry to Portfolio Committee no 4 instead of a Select Committee was negatived on Division (16:22). The motion was agreed to on the voices.

BILLS

Four members introduced bills into the Legislative Council and gave their second reading speeches.

Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019 (Ms Sharpe, Australian Labor Party)

House of origin: Legislative Council

The bill prohibits retailers from supplying single-use, lightweight plastic shopping bags to customers and provides that retailers can be investigated and fined up to $5,500 for non-compliance.

Ms Sharpe (Australian Labor Party) introduced the bill and gave her second reading speech (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech), noting she had introduced a similar bill in 2016, but that it had not proceeded to a vote.

In her speech, Ms Sharpe indicated that New South Wales now lags behind the rest of Australia on this issue, as every other state and territory has introduced a ban on plastic bags. Ms Sharpe noted that the bill will reduce waste and landfill and lessen the other negative impacts caused by plastic bags, such as their often fatal interaction with marine life. At the conclusion of Ms Sharpe’s speech, debate was adjourned for five calendar days.

Mining Amendment (Compensation for Cancellation of Exploration Licence) Bill 2019 – Referral to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice (Revd Nile, Christian Democratic Party)

House of origin: Legislative Council

The bill seeks to amend the Mining Act 1992 to provide that persons financially affected by the cancellation of a mining exploration licence owned by NuCoal Resources Limited over certain land at Doyles Creek, can apply to an independent arbitrator for an assessment and determination of compensation. The exploration licence was cancelled as a result of the ICAC findings in Operation Acacia. Schedule 6A to the Act currently precludes compensation being payable by the state.

Revd Nile introduced the bill and gave his second reading speech (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech).

Revd Nile argued that NuCoal’s shareholders were innocent of any wrongdoing and should not have been punished. He said that the bill provides for a process for compensation but does not seek to set an amount, or select who should be compensated, or under what terms that compensation should be paid. Revd Nile noted that the bill establishes a scheme where parties who have been adversely impacted as a consequence of the ICAC investigations may seek recourse. At the conclusion of Mr Revd Nile’s speech, debate was adjourned for five calendar days. Following this, the House referred the bill, on the motion of Revd Nile, to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for inquiry and report.

Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Repeal Bill 2019 (Mr Latham, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation)

House of origin: Legislative Council

The bill repeals the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986 in order to lift the ban on nuclear power and uranium mining.

Mr Latham (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation) introduced the bill and gave his second reading speech (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech). He indicated that lifting the ban on nuclear power and uranium mining will generate jobs and assist with long term energy planning. Mr Latham argued that there is a looming power crisis as gas supply is limited and coal-fired power stations are being phased out, stating that uranium mining will help ‘keep the power on’ in New South Wales. At the conclusion of Mr Latham’s speech, debate was adjourned for five calendar days. Following this, the House referred the bill, on the motion of Mr Latham, to the Standing Committee on State Development for inquiry and report.

Crown Land Management Amendment (Reservation and Vesting of Crown Land) Bill 2019 (Mr Veitch, Australian Labor Party)

House of origin: Legislative Council

The bill seeks to increase protections for Crown land in two ways. The first is to extend protections to all land reserved for public purpose ― showgrounds, travelling stock reserves, community halls as well as parks and sporting fields ― by providing that the Minister must inform both Houses of Parliament of the intention to revoke a parcel of reserved Crown land. Such a revocation can be disallowed. Secondly, by requiring the Minister to seek permission to transfer Crown land to another government agency and explain to Parliament why the transfer is required and how it is in the public interest. Mr Veitch argued that these protections were necessary to ensure valuable Crown land is not lost for future generations as a result of government sales or transfers.

Mr Veitch (Australian Labor Party) introduced the bill and gave his second reading speech (see Hansard for a transcript of the speech). At the conclusion of Mr Veitch’s speech, debate was adjourned for five calendar days.

Adjournment debate

The following members spoke to the adjournment debate:

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