The first day of the second October sitting week began with a President’s statement about the weekend’s visit to Parliament by His Majesty King Charles III. The House then passed a bill related to ‘vibrancy’ reforms aimed at boosting the night time economy and debated another which would allow the Health Insurance Levy to be raised. In a historic moment, an hourglass gifted to the Council by His Majesty was used in the chamber for the first time! Read on for more…

PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT – VISIT BY HIS MAJESTY THE KING

Early in the sitting day, the President made a statement acknowledging a visit by His Majesty King Charles III’s visit to the Parliament of New South Wales on Sunday 20 October. His Majesty attended the Parliament following the official launch of the major Bicentenary Exhibition, Legacy & Evolution – 200 Years of the NSW Legislative Council and made an Address to those in attendance at a function in the Strangers’ Restaurant. In acknowledgement of the Bicentenary, His Majesty also presented the Legislative Council with a gift of an hourglass, engraved with the Royal Coat of Arms and an inscription memorialising his visit. This hourglass was used for the first time on Tuesday, to time a division in the committee stage of the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Bill 2024. Read the President’s address in full in the Hansard record.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT – DEATH OF MR CRAIG HUGO

On Tuesday, Minister for Natural Resources the Hon Courtney Houssos made a ministerial statement about the death of coal miner Mr Craig Hugo on the site of the Austar Coal Mine in September 2024. The full details of her statement can be found in the Hansard record. The Leader of the Opposition in the Council, the Hon Damien Tudehope, also spoke in reply. 

PASSED: 24-HOUR ECONOMY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (VIBRANCY REFORMS) BILL 2024

The 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Bill 2024 passed the Legislative Council on Tuesday. The bill builds on the 24-Hour Economy Legislation Amendment (Vibrancy Reforms) Bill 2023 amending a number Acts relevant to the night-time economy including the Major Events Act 2009, the Liquor Act 2007 and the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Read more about the bill in our previous blog.

Members from the Opposition, The Greens, the Libertarian Party and the Government contributed to the second reading debate. Read all contributions in the Hansard record. The second reading of the bill was agreed to on the voices.

When the House resolved into committee of the whole…

  • Three amendments were moved by Ms Cate Faehrmann on behalf of The Greens which sought to require the Premier to consult with both the promoter and the Minister if they plan to cancel or vary an order of the Minister for a Major Event, and to remove other conditions of development consent for licensed premises. These amendments were negatived on division (Ayes: 7/Noes: 30)
  • Two amendments were moved by the Hon John Graham on behalf of the Government which sought to clarify that where music-related conditions of development consent have been removed by the bill and they were part of a plan of management underneath the development application, only the relevant provision of the development application plan of management ceases to have any effect – that is, the plan of management itself will continue. These amendments were agreed to on the voices.
  • Three amendments were moved by the Hon John Ruddick on behalf of the Libertarian Party which sought to remove the requirement for patrons to provide their identification and complete a form before they are able to enter a club. These amendments were negatived on division (Ayes: 5/Noes: 33)

Read the full committee of the whole proceedings in the Hansard record, and continued here.

With the third reading agreed to on the voices, the bill as amended was sent on to the Legislative Assembly for concurrence.

DEBATED: HEALTH INSURANCE LEVIES AMENDMENT BILL 2024

Also in the Legislative Council on Tuesday, the Health Insurance Levies Amendment Bill 2024 was introduced by Treasurer the Hon Daniel Mookhey. This bill seeks to amend the Health Insurance Levies Act 1982 to enable a base rate to be declared by the regulations.

In his second reading speech, the Treasurer explained that the bill seeks to raise the prescribed rate of the Health Insurance Levy, aimed at recovering unpaid amounts from health insurers that do not fully cover the single room rate for their members in public hospitals. While the Government seeks to negotiate with these health insurers , if these negotiations fail, this bill would authorise the Treasurer and Minister for Finance to increase the levy from $1.77 to $3.27 per week to cover the shortfall. Read more about the bill in Treasurer Mookhey’s second reading speech.

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

When the hard adjournment time of 10pm was reached, further debate on the bill was adjourned until a future sitting of the House.

IN COMMITTEES

The House heard ‘take note’ debates on the following committee reports and Government responses:

GENERAL MOTIONS 

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

The following committee reports were also tabled in the House:

DOCUMENTS TABLED AND REPORTED IN THE HOUSE 

Among the documents tabled and reported on Tuesday were: 

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

One thought on “In the House – Tuesday 22 October 2024”

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