It was all about the Budget on Tuesday when Treasurer, and member of the Legislative Council the Hon Daniel Mookhey gave his budget speech in ‘the other place’, the Legislative Assembly chamber. Back in the Council, the House engaged in a ‘take note’ debate on the budget papers and passed two bills, both of which were introduced in the last sitting week. Read on for more…                                                                                           

THE BUDGET

Budget week kicked off in the Parliament of NSW on Tuesday with the introduction of the relevant budget bills in the Legislative Assembly. With the NSW Treasurer the Hon Daniel Mookhey being a member of the Legislative Council and the Constitution Act 1902 requiring that budget bills be introduced in the Assembly, a special invitation was agreed to allowing him to enter the Assembly chamber and deliver the official speech on the 2024/25 budget.

Mr Mookhey is only the fourth Treasurer in the Parliament’s recent history to be a member of the Upper House. Read Mr Mookhey’s Budget speech in the Hansard record.

TABLING & TAKE NOTE OF THE BUDGET PAPERS

After the day’s formal business, the 2024/25 budget papers were tabled by the Treasurer, the Hon Daniel Mookhey. These included:

Later in the day, the House engaged in a take note debate about the year’s budget estimates and related papers, on the motion of Minister Sharpe. Contributions to the debate were made by members of the Opposition, the Government and Independent the Hon Mark Latham. Read the full debate in the Hansard record, and continued here.

PASSED: Rice Marketing Amendment Bill 2024

The Rice Marketing Amendment Bill 2024 passed the Legislative Council, after having been introduced in the previous sitting week. The bill amends the Rice Marketing Act 1983 to provide for the partial and complete end to rice vesting arrangements in NSW. Read more about the bill in our earlier blog.

Contributions to the second reading debate were made by members of the Opposition, the Government, Libertarian Party and The Greens. Read all member contributions in the Hansard record.

When the House resolved into committee of the whole four amendments were moved by the Hon Sarah Mitchell on behalf of the Opposition. These amendments sought to:

  • Change the group excluded from rice vesting arrangements to a “producer in relation to rice cultivated and harvested”,
  • Exclude rice cultivated and harvested in the excluded area after 1 September 2024, and
  • Ensure that all rice harvested and cultivated in the Riverina Region before 1 July 2025 is subject to the vesting scheme.

These amendments were negatived on the voices.

Read the full committee of the whole proceedings in the Hansard record.

With no amendments made, the bill’s third reading was agreed to, and it was then sent to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.

PASSED: Government Sector Employment and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

Also passing the Council on Tuesday was the Government Sector Employment and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024. This bill amends the Government Sector Employment Act 2013 by making changes to the functions carried out by the Public Service Commissioner. It also amends the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022 in relation to the appointment of the CEO of the NSW Reconstruction Authority. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

During the second reading debate, contributions were made by members of the Opposition and The Greens. Read all contributions to the second reading debate in the Hansard record.

The House divided on the second reading of the bill (Ayes: 20/Noes: 12), before the third reading was agreed to on the voices. The bill was then sent to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.

INTRODUCED: National Parks and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

The National Parks and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 was introduced by Minister for the Environment and Minister for Heritage, the Hon Penny Sharpe. This bill seeks to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 changing the reservation status of certain land and establishing the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Operating Fund. It would also amend the Heritage Act 1977 in relation to the Heritage Conservation Fund.

In her second reading speech, Ms Sharpe explained that the bill seeks to revoke around 144 hectares of land from seven national parks and reserves in the state. National parks and reserves including Jervis Bay National Park, Royal National Park, Marramarra National Park and the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area would be reduced in size to enable infrastructure projects to proceed, allow boundary errors and inadvertent encroachments to be addressed and confirm ownership by the appropriate Government authority. In some cases, the bill would allow compensation to be provided for the revocation of land from the national parks system. The bill would also recategorize the Serpentine Nature Reserve as the Serpentine Aboriginal Area. As well as this, the bill establishes a fund for the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust for the purposes of holding money not permitted to be held by the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Public Fund. This would allow for the Trust to accept and use grants and contributions to support operations of the Trust itself, and actions in support of the objects of the Trust.

The bill’s amendments to the Heritage Act 1977 would clarify the purpose of the Heritage Conversation Fund, aligning this with the purpose of the Act. It would also expand the ways money in the fund can be used in the same way, including to promote public awareness of the State’s heritage, facilitate conservation of the State’s heritage, and promote education and research in relation to the State’s heritage. Read more about the bill in Ms Sharpe’s second reading speech.

Contributions to the second reading debate were made by members of the Opposition and The Greens. Read all member contributions in the Hansard record.

When the House resolved into committee of the whole, one amendment was moved by The Hon John Ruddick on behalf of the Libertarian Party which sought to require that consideration of the public access to national parks be defined as part of national park plans of management. This amendment was negatived on the voices.

With the hard adjournment time of 10pm looming, further consideration of the bill was adjourned until a future sitting of the House. Read the full committee of the whole proceedings in the Hansard record.

IN COMMITTEES

During the day’s proceedings, the receipt of a number of committee reports was reported in the House:

Also in committees, the President informed the House that Ms Julia Finn MP has been elected Chair and Dr Joe McGirr MP has been elected Deputy Chair of the Joint Select Committee on Arts and Music Education and Training in NSW. Read more about this inquiry on our website.

The House also heard ‘take note’ debates on the following committee reports:

GENERAL MOTIONS

The following motions were agreed to without debate, during the morning’s formal business:

DOCUMENTS TABLED AND REPORTED IN THE HOUSE

Among the documents tabled and reported in the House on Tuesday were:

Find all documents tabled and reported in our Tabled Papers Database.  

One thought on “In the House – Tuesday 18 June 2024”

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