The House emerged from its winter recess on Tuesday, beginning the sitting week by passing a bill to establish a 12-month trial of a demerit point reduction scheme in NSW. Read on for more about the passage of the Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Point Reduction Trial) Bill 2023 in the Legislative Council, together with the day’s other key business…
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON ARTS AND CULTURE POLICY
In his capacity as Minister for the Arts, the Hon John Graham made a ministerial statement on Tuesday relating to the arts and culture sector.
In his statement, seen in Hansard here, Minister Graham acknowledged the importance of culture as a human right, and spoke to policy development in the arts and culture space for NSW, including in alignment with the Federal Government’s National Culture Policy. The Hon Sam Farraway spoke in reply on behalf of the Opposition, noting both the policy and investment legacy of the Liberal Nationals Government, and the value of a bipartisan approach to supporting and promoting the arts.
PASSED: ROAD TRANSPORT AMENDMENT (DEMERIT POINT REDUCTION TRIAL) BILL 2023
Debate resumed on the Road Transport Amendment (Demerit Point Reduction Trial) Bill 2023, which was introduced by Minister John Graham back on 27 June – see our previous blog post here.
The bill amends the Road Transport Act 2013 to establish a 12-month trial of a demerit point reduction scheme. The scheme is intended to incentivise drivers to maintain clean driving records by removing one demerit point for drivers who remain offence free during the trial period.
During the second reading debate, contributions were heard from members of the Opposition, The Greens, the Government, and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. See all members’ contributions in the Hansard record.
Both the second and third readings of the bill were agreed to on the voices, with the bill then forwarded to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.
FOUR NEW INQUIRIES ESTABLISHED
The House was informed of four recently established inquiries. These were:
- A Privileges Committee inquiry into the recommendations of ICAC arising out of ‘Operation Keppel’ (the ICAC investigation that produced the report Investigation into the conduct of the then member of Parliament for Wagga Wagga and then premier and others). Learn more about the inquiry here.
- An inquiry into the equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care, being conducted by the Health Committee. Submission for this inquiry remain open until 6 September, with more information on the inquiry’s webpage.
- An inquiry into the current and potential impacts of gold, silver, lead and zinc mining on human health, land, air and water quality in NSW – another Health Committee inquiry, with submissions open until 5 September. Find more information here.
- An inquiry into animal pounds in NSW, being undertaken by the Customer Service Committee. Submissions remain open until 18 August, with details on the inquiry’s webpage.
GENERAL MOTIONS
There was just one general motion agreed to without debate during the morning’s formal business on Tuesday, concerning St James’ Church King Street and moved the Hon Natalie Ward (Liberal).
GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO COMMITTEE REPORTS – TAKE NOTE DEBATES
‘Take note’ debates on government responses to committee reports from the last parliamentary session took place on Tuesday. See the links below for the full overviews in the Hansard record:
- The government response to the December 2022 report Impact of ambulance ramping and access block on the operation of hospital emergency departments in New South Wales
- The government response to the December 2022 report Fifteenth General Meeting with the Valuer General
- The government response to the December 2022 report Impact of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link
REPORTS TABLED AND REPORTED IN THE HOUSE
Among the documents tabled or reported in the House on Tuesday were the following reports tabled by the President:
- Operation Venti: Report pursuant to section 132 Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016 (July 2023 report of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission)
- An erratum to Report on the Operation of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009: 2021-2022: Open Government, Open Access, Open Data (July 2023 report of the Information and Privacy Commission)
The day’s full list of documents can be found in the Tabled Papers Database.
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT OUR ‘HOUSE IN REVIEW’ SURVEY
A big thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent survey about the House in Review. We’ve heard what you’ve had to say, and look forward to continuing to deliver the content from the Legislative Council that you want to see. Stay tuned for more.