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Sheed airs concerns about future water buybacks

February 24, 2022/in Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed stressed how an independent voice in federal parliament was essential to hear the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District’s issues attached to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

“The National Party are clearly not being heard, even with a seat at the Federal Government’s table,” Ms Sheed said.

“Our only hope is to have a federal independent who can negotiate effectively with whoever is in government at the time.”

Ms Sheed spoke in parliament about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the targets that must be achieved by its completion in 2024.

“There is a serious concern in our region that there are still many projects underway that will not be completed by that date,” Ms Sheed said.

“Under the federal Water Act 2007, if the water is not delivered, if it is not available, if it is not part of the plan by that time, the legislation provides for the Federal Government to go out and buy the water.

Ms Sheed has been calling on the Federal Government for years to legislate that they would not buy back any more water from farmers.

“Promises made by federal water ministers of no further buybacks are worthless because they have failed to back them up with legislation,” Ms Sheed said.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Ms Sheed said the impacts of previous buybacks resulted in empty shops and farmers leaving the district.

“We are terrified in our community that it will happen again, and we see a federal Liberal-National party government with no plan for what will happen in 2024,” Ms Sheed said.

Ms Sheed said the federal Labor Party had no current policy on the issue, but always stood for delivering the plan in full and on time.

“Our only hope is to have an independent who can negotiate effectively with whoever is in government at the time,” Ms Sheed said.

“We need an extension of time to deliver the water we promised before the Federal Government starts looking towards buybacks to meet the shortfall.”

ENDS

Media contact
Elaine Cooney 0447 820 466│elaine.cooney@parliament.vic.gov.au

Click here for PDF version

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/zac-edmonds-hKUGBLsdpI8-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1918 2560 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-24 14:31:392022-02-28 14:53:34Sheed airs concerns about future water buybacks
Suzanna on the steps of Parliament House with hands folded looks away from the camera for a side profile picture

Sheed achieves victory for regional newspapers

February 23, 2022/in Latest News, Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed has brought about a change in the Labor Government’s direction to slash government spending on regional newspapers.

The change came about as Ms Sheed questioned the Premier Dan Andrews about Labor’s
attempt to remove the government’s requirement to place public notices in local newspapers and instead use an online platform to host such information.

Mr Andrews said thanks to the advocacy of Ms Sheed and others the government would make an amendment to the Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2021.

The amendment will retain the requirement to publish public notices in regional newspapers. This will ensure the government notices required under legislation such as those relating to permits, approvals, licenses, and many other matters will continue to be published.

Ms Sheed said today’s move by the Labor Government proved the effectiveness of independents in the Victorian Parliament and gave credit to the premier for listening to important regional issues.

“With the stroke of a pen the government could have wiped out the requirement to publish public notices in our local newspapers,” Ms Sheed said.

“The continuing loss of advertising has contributed to the closure of many newspapers and if this bill passed unamended, it could have been the last straw for many more.

“It is vital that public notices are accessible to everyone, especially in regional areas where such notices can have great impact on the community.

“I moved an amendment in Legislative Assembly when the bill was first introduced but this was unsuccessful.

“Together with other independents, I worked hard to persuade the government to make the necessary amendment, and today Mr Andrews heard our calls.”

ENDS

Media contact
Elaine Cooney 0447 820 466│elaine.cooney@parliament.vic.gov.au

Click Here for PDF Version

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_0012-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-23 18:50:582022-02-23 18:50:58Sheed achieves victory for regional newspapers
Suzanna Sheed MP, dressed in black business dress and white blazer site at a library table surrounded by papers.

Regional Newspapers

February 23, 2022/in Parliament

Question without notice: My question is for the Premier. Premier, regional media across Australia and certainly here in Victoria has been under threat for several years, brought about by the consolidation of media outlets and a move away from hard copy newspapers due to digitisation and social media. It has been exacerbated during the pandemic, and the rate of change has seen television outlets closing and the remaining newspapers really struggling to stay afloat. Our country newspapers tell our stories, give us the news and put the spotlight on local and other governments. I believe it is a major regional issue, and I have raised it many times in this place. Premier, what are you doing to assist regional newspapers to remain viable?

Answer (Premier Dan Andrews): I thank the independent member for Shepparton for her question, and like her, I agree that regional media, particularly regional and country newspapers, plays a vital role in giving local communities a voice, giving local communities a platform to advocate and making sure that local communities are well informed about what is going on in their part of our beautiful state. All of that is critically important, and I have always been an advocate of more voices in our media, not less. I think that some of the trends in terms of reducing the number of points of view, reducing the number of outlets, reducing some of that competitive tension in what should be not just a contest of ideas but also a contest of what is important—a debate about what are the most important issues—I think the more voices we have, the better. But it is not just a philosophical commitment on my part and the part of the government in relation to more voices.

Mr D O’Brien interjected.

Mr ANDREWS: Sorry?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Gippsland South!

Mr ANDREWS: Goodness me. Why aren’t you on the front bench? Why aren’t you on the front bench? That is a very good question.

But they are very significant investments that we have made—not just words but action, real action: $16.5 million in COVID regional press commitments, noting all the points that the member for Shepparton has made about dislocation, about change, about really uncertain times—$16.5 million. Last month, so January 2022, the COVID regional press commitment that I just referred to delivered from that $16.5 million $397 000 in direct support for regional papers. When combined with all other Victorian government advertising campaigns, our investment was worth some $931 000 to regional press outlets last month.

The editors and owners that I talk to right across regional Victoria—the country press association and individual journalists, editors, owners of regional newspaper outlets—acknowledge just how important that practical support has been. Plus of course the fact that we are not only supporting large campaigns and specific grants but we have given a commitment, and our record demonstrates this, that we will keep on supporting those campaigns. Whether it be in tourism, investment, road safety, fire safety—the list goes on and on—those campaigns and the money I have talked about are critical. I want to see more voices in regional media, not less. And those dollars—not only do you get a great outcome for Victorian taxpayers but you support the very media diversity that I would argue has never been more important than it is right now in these uncertain times.

Supplementary question: Well, Premier, to get to the point, the publication of government notices in our local newspapers not only provides the public with an accessible opportunity to know what is going on but it provides advertising revenue that underpins the income of many of our regional newspapers. Premier, will you amend your government’s legislation—well, I should say policy—that is proposing to remove the requirement for that publication in the printed press?

Answer (Premier Dan Andrews): I want to thank the independent member for Shepparton for her advocacy on behalf of regional newspapers and regional media on this very issue, just as I should thank my own regional colleagues—a record number of Labor members representing regional Victoria—a true party of regional Victoria. I am very pleased to be able to say that whilst we had intended to enshrine those expenditures and that effort in regs—so in a subordinate instrument—yes, we will, thanks to the advocacy of the member for Shepparton and others, put these matters beyond doubt via an amendment so that there is complete clarity. Not only are we the government that has supported regional media more than any government in the state’s history, but there can be no doubt that that will continue to be our policy. I thank the member for Shepparton, who just gets on and delivers. That is what she does because she is about outcomes, not silly games like some others on that side of the house.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_0073-scaled.jpg 1437 2560 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-23 11:54:402022-03-07 12:04:30Regional Newspapers
Suzanna Sheed

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND ESTIMATES COMMITTEE

February 23, 2022/in Parliament

Report on the 2020–21 Budget Estimates: I rise to speak on aspects of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee 2020–21 budget estimates inquiry, and I will be referring also to the 2019–20 budget estimates inquiry as it relates to water issues and in particular to evidence given to that inquiry by the Minister for Water.

In this regard I want to speak first about the Connections Project. I know a lot of people over many years will have heard of the Connections Project, but I think having now reached its conclusion it is important to reflect on what that project delivered and what it means for our communities. It was the largest irrigation project ever undertaken. It was delivered by the Victorian government and jointly funded with the federal government. It has achieved 429 gigalitres of water savings, and 279 gigalitres of that water is part of Victoria’s commitment to the Murray-Darling Basin plan. I will say something more about that in a minute. 1725 kilometres of channels were decommissioned, 9500 meters installed and 7700 landowners’ systems modernised, so it was truly an amazing project, and it was born out of a realisation during the millennium drought of the changing climate, the need for modernisation of irrigation systems and of course issues of food security being recognised. We all remember the millennium drought and around about 2006, 2007 and 2008 that extraordinary time of unbelievable lack of water supply. The lake in Shepparton was completely dry for several years and there were no irrigation water allocations to farms. Dairy farmers were leaving in droves and marriages were breaking down—a truly horrendous time for those of us who lived in those regional towns where the impacts of the drought were felt.

A large community group got together. They called themselves the food bowl group and in negotiations with the Brumby government they were able to put together a plan for this modernisation project. There were over 4000 kilometres of channels winding their way through these irrigation areas, and the modernisation of that capacity reduced the channel length to improve the ability to deliver water to farms. We ended up seeing many channels being lined, some channels being closed and new and modern meters installed on our river systems. What we have been left with now is an extraordinarily modernised system of irrigation. We have lost many farmers along the way, particularly in the dairy industry in northern Victoria, and that is certainly a tragedy and a concern in itself.

But the project has seen delivery of part of our water requirement to the Murray-Darling Basin plan, and with only a couple of years left to go until effectively D-Day on the Murray-Darling Basin plan, when the audit of water delivered by all of the states to achieve that 2750 gigalitres will be undertaken, there is a serious concern in our region about the fact that there are still many projects underway that will not be completed by that date. New South Wales, Victoria and even South Australia are saying, ‘We’ve got projects underway but they cannot be completed by that time’.

Under the current federal Water Act 2007, if the water is not delivered, if it is not available, if it is not part of the plan by that time, the legislation provides for the federal government to go out and buy the water. We saw the impacts of buybacks on our regions—empty shops, farmers leaving. We are terrified in our community that that will happen again, and we see a federal Liberal-National party government with no plan for what will happen in 2024. We have an opposition Labor federally who have not said what is happening, but they have always stood by delivering the plan in full and on time.

We have an independent standing in our region; there are many independents standing across areas in this forthcoming federal election. Our only hope is to have an independent who can negotiate effectively with whoever is in government at the time. When 2024 comes we need to know that the Productivity Commission will be listened to, that flexibility will be delivered and that there will be more time given to governments and communities to deliver the water that does need to be delivered but to do it in a way that is feasible.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_0150-scaled.jpg 2560 1437 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-23 11:41:422022-03-07 11:46:35PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND ESTIMATES COMMITTEE
Suzanna Sheed

JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (TRIAL BY JUDGE ALONE AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL 2022

February 23, 2022/in Parliament

I rise to speak against this motion too. While there is a good argument that one day might seem trivial, there really is an important issue of principle here, and it has been reflected in so many ways in this Parliament over many, many years where we have seen a slow derogation of the capacity for this side of the house to scrutinise government. Just on the issue of 13 and 14 days alone, I think it is an important issue, because this bill is actually a really important bill.

It is a piece of justice legislation that goes to the issue of trial by jury, trial by judge alone in a time of pandemic. We saw something rushed through the house during the course of last year to enable this to occur on some sort of temporary basis. There was no time for scrutiny and no time for debate about that in this house. It was effectively some sort of amendment, I think, that no-one had the opportunity to consider in any detail. This is a really important issue. Trial by jury is a fundamental human right that exists in our society, and trial by judge alone in criminal matters in particular is something that has been embedded in our justice system forever. It is really so important that we have the time to look at this.

For the issue of one day to become an argument here—again, it might seem minor, but let us not forget that late last year the government came into this house with the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 around the pandemic legislation. It introduced it here on a Tuesday morning—first read—and we had to vote on it on Thursday afternoon of the same week. There was no room for consultation. There was no room to go back to our communities, to go to the integrity bodies, and let me tell you, they were very interested. They said that they had not been consulted in the way that they were supposed to have been consulted with. So what happened then was a very torrid time in so many ways because of the way that bill was dealt with, whereby we had demonstrations on the steps and we had crossbenchers in the upper house being vilified at every level, but ultimately the bill was made a better bill and ultimately it came back here. In some ways you might say that that was democracy at work, and in a sense it was—two houses both working on it. But if we do not try and preserve some of the norms of this Parliament, then we are going to be in trouble.

Let me tell you, people are talking about it. People are talking about the motion that I put before this house every Tuesday—that we should debate whether we should have a non-government business program. That is now being talked about more broadly than in this place. You all might think that I am being trivial raising that, but that is an important feature of any parliamentary democracy, any house of Parliament. Every single other lower house in the Westminster system has a non-government business program. The Victorian Parliament is the only one that does not. When do we get to do consideration in detail anymore? Hardly ever. The last time I remember a significant one was on the assisted dying legislation, and it was an outstanding opportunity for the minister to talk about and be scrutinised on an important bill. We have a situation now where most of the ministers are here, but up in the upper house, the other place, that is where the consideration in detail takes place, not with the minister who is responsible for the bill fronting those questions, because they are down here. This should be happening here; it should be happening in this house.

So these are some of the fundamental issues around how Parliament operates that we need to start thinking about. We need to preserve them, and they need to be respected. It might only say in the standing orders ‘a reasonable time’, but 14 days has been the norm. We should stick to the norms. As someone else has mentioned, if we are approached on this side of the house and good reasons are put for something, they are considered and very often agreed to. But to come in here and think you are just going to push that through is not good enough. It is just a reflection of a change of attitude that has developed over a very long period in this place that is denigrating the standards and the actual operation of this place, which is meant to operate in a way that gives all members of this house the opportunity to know and understand what is going on, to go back to their communities and to be able to debate effectively.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_0150-scaled.jpg 2560 1437 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-23 08:58:152022-03-03 09:47:06JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (TRIAL BY JUDGE ALONE AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL 2022
Suzanna on the steps of Parliament House with hands folded looks away from the camera for a side profile picture

Paul Briggs

February 22, 2022/in Parliament

Members Statement: I would like to draw the attention of this house to some of the wonderful work that is being done in our community around the enhancement of our Indigenous economy and the man behind it, Uncle Paul Briggs, executive director of the Kaiela Institute.

The name Paul Briggs is as synonymous with sport in Shepparton as it is with helping young Indigenous people thrive in life. Paul was awarded the prestigious Jack Titus Service Award by the AFL recently for his dedication and commitment to football and First Nations people, and there is no-one more deserving than Paul to receive this honour. Paul puts his heart and soul into Rumbalara Football Netball Club, where he teaches young people not only about sport but about life.

Paul has gone to great lengths to go further than closing the gap. He wants Indigenous people to prosper in terms of wealth, health, peace, self-determination, cultural strength and happiness with the Goulburn Murray Regional Prosperity Plan. This plan will actively encourage unique Indigenous businesses to thrive in our local community.

It will deliver parity for First Nations people and bring to our region the additional profit of $150 million per year and 460 full-time jobs by 2036. Not only will it give our Indigenous residents a greater sense of pride in their culture and their businesses and employment, but it will integrate new and exciting enterprises into our regional economy that will deepen connections with one another, stimulate our economy and really work towards a fairer society. The plan is on the verge and needs support.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_0012-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-22 17:03:282022-03-07 10:27:09Paul Briggs

Sheed asks for more monitoring of illegal logging

February 22, 2022/in Latest News, Media Releases

Independent Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed is pleased that action has been taken on illegal timber harvesting in Shepparton but said more needs to be done.

Ms Sheed aired her concerns last year about large-scale illegal logging in Shepparton Regional Park and Lower Goulburn National Park, following several complaints by locals that their environment was being destroyed by illegal logging.

Shepparton residents told Ms Sheed that the illegal loggers were using chainsaws at all hours of the day and night to steal trees that would be sold as firewood in Shepparton and Melbourne.

Ms Sheed said Parks Victoria logged 244 incidents of illegal timber harvesting in Shepparton Regional Park and Lower Goulburn National Park, in the past two years.

“From a large number of incidents, only five people have been prosecuted for illegal timber harvesting activities within the Lower Goulburn National Park but none at Shepparton Regional Park.

“While this is quite a low number, a further seven prosecution briefs are currently being prepared against 11 people and 10 infringement notices have been issued.

“One person was fined $7,500 for the illegal removal of firewood and damage to wildlife habitat, and another was punished with a 12-month jail sentence.

“Four vehicles, five chainsaws, two trailers, two mobile phones, and more than five cubic metres of red gum firewood have been seized.

“While action is being taken against these criminals who are decimating our local environment and wildlife habitat, causing angst among nearby residents, and avoiding paying taxes, I feel that many are avoiding detection and not facing our courts.

“However, I am heartened that the targeted operation on illegal logging will continue to be led by the Conservation Regulator and Parks Victoria until the end of 2022.

 

ENDS

Media contact

Elaine Cooney 0447 820 466│elaine.cooney@parliament.vic.gov.au

Click Here for PDF Version

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IMG_0713-scaled.jpg 2560 1920 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-22 13:26:072022-02-23 14:23:58Sheed asks for more monitoring of illegal logging
Suzanna Sheed Independent Member of Parliament for Shepparton dressed in business suit and holding papers stands in the Legislative Assembly and address parliament

Sheed calls for changes to Reform bill

February 14, 2022/in Latest News, Media Releases

Member for Shepparton District Suzanna Sheed called for an amendment
to a clause in the Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2021 that would be
harmful to regional newspapers and reduce the availability of information to the public.

The bill proposed that all state and local government public notices would no longer
be required to be published in the print media.

During a sitting of parliament on Thursday, Ms Sheed spoke about how the clause in the
bill would result in significant damage to the viability of regional newspapers and
moved an amendment to the bill.

While the amendment did not pass in the Legislative Assembly, Ms Sheed
commended the Liberals, Nationals and other independents for supporting her
amendment.

“I will not give up the fight to have this clause removed from the bill and will be
speaking to upper house members to submit a similar amendment, so the bill does
not pass in its current form,” Ms Sheed said.

During the debate, Ms Sheed highlighted the importance of the community knowing
about government decisions and used Greater Shepparton City Council’s decision to
look at selling the airspace above a city carpark for social housing as an example of
something of interest to a large portion of the community.

“Regional newspapers have suffered greatly in the past decade due to the increasing
presence of online media and the decline in print newspapers across our regional areas,”
Ms Sheed said.

“The impacts of a few paragraphs in this bill can be devastating, and I am here to say
that on behalf of regional communities something absolutely must be done about it.

“Where newspapers stop reporting on what happens at their local council meetings,
people become disengaged.

“Government notices that go into the newspapers, whether they be planning, tenders, or other will go onto one single internet site, and I think it is a really big mistake to think that everybody will have access to that site.

“It is often the older, retired people who are really watching for those notices. “They are on the ball, they are active community members, and they want to know what is going on, and if they cannot access it in the local newspaper, then how will they?”

ENDS

Media contact

Elaine Cooney 0447 820 466│elaine.cooney@parliament.vic.gov.au

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Capture.png 559 988 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-14 11:10:172022-02-16 11:17:35Sheed calls for changes to Reform bill
Suzanna on the steps of Parliament House with hands folded looks away from the camera for a side profile picture

REGULATORY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (REFORM) BILL 2021

February 10, 2022/in Latest News, Parliament

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (12:27): I rise to speak on the Regulatory Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2021. At the outset I would like to say that I do have some concerns in relation in particular to that aspect of the bill that seeks to amend the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1994. I will come to the reasons for that shortly, but to commence with I would like to move a reasoned amendment. I will do that now in the following terms. I move:

That all the words after ‘That’ be omitted and replaced with the words ‘this house refuses to read this bill a second time until the government conducts further consultation on the impact on regional newspapers of ceasing to publish notices in print newspapers’.

This is an omnibus bill, and it seeks to amend numerous other acts of Parliament, some of them quite significantly, but today I will mainly concentrate on the issue that arises because of this amendment that seeks to remove that requirement to publish notices in print media.

Just briefly, I will refer to a number of other amendments which are encompassed in the bill. During the pandemic temporary allowances were made for parliamentary committees, local councils and libraries to meet virtually, and this is now a process that will become permanent as a result of this legislation when it is passed. Another important element of this bill is giving regulators permission to offer fee relief in times of crisis. We have seen many instances of that during COVID, but often with a need to have particular legislation to do it. This will create a facility to enable organisations to step in more quickly and have some flexibility in that regard.

The problem that I have with this bill is really one that I have spoken about many times in this Parliament, and it is about the future viability of regional newsprint. It is an issue that is continually being brought to our attention in regional areas as more and more media outlets withdraw or close their doors. The changes in this legislation remove the requirement for Victorian government public notices to be published in newspapers—just to be published online. So the scheme is really one where currently statutory authorities and all sorts of bodies, including local government and the Victorian state government, publish these notices in the print newspapers.

There is now an intention to set up a single website and everything will go there and there will no longer be the need for the print to occur. It has been removed from the legislation. It is not even going to be a regulation that occurs. The very best that will come out of this is there may be a guideline set up by the minister wherein there can be certain circumstances where it goes in the print media also. It is virtually discretionary as far as my reading of the bill goes, and I think that is not good enough. Accessibility for our communities to this sort of information is extremely important, and I just draw on one instance as a situation that would give people an idea of how important it is. Just before Christmas Greater Shepparton City Council agreed to the situation where they would look at selling the airspace above a car park in the CBD. Now, there are a whole lot of people who are not happy with that and a residents association has been set up. This is only because our local newspapers were able to see a notice that was published, to write a story on it and to bring it to the attention of the public in a way that has allowed everyone in the community now to make submissions to local government, for and against, and to really create an atmosphere of people feeling that they have some say in government at that level, and indeed every level.

It really is important also because it takes away just some of the base income that regional newspapers have. In regional areas politicians advertise regularly in their local newspapers. I know they rely on that as well. It is part of our way of sharing with the community what we have been doing, what we are saying and what we are involved in on their behalf as their representatives. But more importantly, all those government notices that go out and into the newspapers that we see all the time, whether they be planning, whether they be applications for tenders, all sorts of things, that are really important—we are now looking at a situation where they go onto one internet site, and I think it is a really big mistake to think that everybody will have access to that site.

I draw attention to the fact that recently the Victorian government set up a power saving energy grant of $250, available to everyone. That was widely published—it was in newspapers, it was online and it has been extended now to 30 June, but there are so many people in our community who cannot go online and do what needs to be done to access that. So we have got our Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre in Mooroopna busy all the time asking people to come in and helping them fill out forms online to do these things, and quite a few of our community agencies are now engaged on behalf of these disadvantaged or elderly people who are not able to access the computers and the internet in a way that so many are. I do not think that is just a regional issue. I mean, if you do not use a computer on a regular basis, on a daily basis, then it can become difficult, it become hard to navigate, and there are many people in our community—not just the elderly—who are in that situation. But let me tell you that it is often the older, retired people who are really watching for those notices. They are on the ball, they are active community members and they want to know what is going on, and if they cannot access it in the local newspaper, then how will they?

Regional newspapers have suffered greatly in the past decade due to the increasing presence of online media and the decline in print newspapers across our regional areas. We have seen many of them close down. We have seen television stations removing their cameramen from our areas; the ABC used have a cameraman in Shepparton. We have seen WIN TV go to a weekly, whole-of-Victoria regional news bulletin; no longer does our area have its own. We are losing our stories. People are not telling our stories anymore and we are finding it really hard to share them, and this is something that has a really significant impact on every aspect of community life. WIN News also pulled out of Wagga Wagga, Orange, Albury, Bundaberg. We are seeing Sky News being streamed in. It is not local news. There is no capacity for them to do local news in the way that our smaller organisations have. So the impacts of just a simple few paragraphs in this omnibus bill can be devastating, and I am here to say that on behalf of regional communities something absolutely must be done about it.

Studies out of the UK and other countries indicate that where there is a loss of local media communities suffer a commensurate rise in corruption, political disengagement and heightened distrust in public institutions. Where newspapers stop reporting on what happens at their local council meetings, people become disengaged. Councils are not accountable. Councillors are not accountable. Council staff are no longer being held to account. For much of what happens it is really important that the light is shone on government at every level, and the removal of this simple aspect of bringing things to the forefront in people’s minds, of letting them know what is happening, what the government is advertising, what they are intending is, in my view, a major encroachment on people’s capacity to participate in society and really in a democracy.

So I have moved this reasoned amendment. I would think that any member in this place who represents a regional area would feel the same way I do. I think they know how important our regional news media at every level is, how much we have lost, what an impact it is having, and with the stroke of a pen we are being faced with a loss of security that was in the legislation and now will end up in some guideline.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_0012-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-10 13:23:492022-02-23 13:25:07REGULATORY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (REFORM) BILL 2021
Suzanna Sheed Independent Member of Parliament for Shepparton dressed in business suit and holding papers stands in the Legislative Assembly and address parliament

COVID-19 Vaccinations for MPs

February 9, 2022/in Latest News, Parliament

Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (12:29): I am pleased to rise and speak on this motion. I note that the last time a motion like this was before the house everyone supported the motion, and here we are now, a couple of months later, looking at an extension of it because of the circumstances we have found ourselves in. I think last December, when Parliament rose for the holiday break, we were all hoping that the changes to the laws that had been made may not even be required to the extent that they had been. There was a sense that perhaps we were moving forward from the delta strain. There was just a hint that omicron was on the horizon. Omicron unfortunately has gone wild over the last couple of months, and we have seen the impacts of that on our community. I think it is with great relief that so many in our community are vaccinated, because the impact has been much less in terms of serious illness and death than would have been the case were it not for vaccinations.

In my community so many people have been vaccinated. Shepparton has a very high rate of first and second doses of vaccination, and just today there is the launch of a campaign to really increase the numbers of those people attending to get their third dose of the vaccination. There is great support for vaccination in the community, and by far the overwhelming majority of people have supported it and have been vaccinated.

We saw the predictions in early January of the possible risks to our hospital system, and our health services saw quite an impact on those systems—just barely able to cope, with the furloughing of staff and so many staff away and so many people having difficulty coping—to the extent that these limits on elective surgery were required. It is probably salutary to note that of our hospital beds, something like 50 per cent of those hospital beds are being taken up by people who are unvaccinated. If 6 per cent of the population are unvaccinated and 50 per cent of the beds are being occupied by those who are unvaccinated, there is a real message in that. The importance of vaccinations is really spelt out by that sort of thing.

I think it is really important also to note that the processes around getting access to elective surgery have really been impacted by the overwhelming strain that was put on the hospital system. We have all had people contact our electorate offices—people who have been so negatively impacted by the delays in having surgery. So we have not come out of this. I respect the contributions that everyone has made in this place, coming at it from so many different angles, and they all have good arguments about it. There are many things that we are so tired of as a community. We so want to move on. We so want our freedoms back. We do not want this virus impacting on our community the way it has for the last two years. That overwhelming sense of tiredness with the way we have had to live is just right through our community, and people are looking forward to something different.

Without wanting to be negative about it, it was only days ago that the commonwealth chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said that we may well be facing another surge of omicron as winter comes on. So we are not out of it yet. There are a lot of measures that still will be required from time to time, and we cannot hide from that fact. I am quite influenced by the fact that the chief medical officer of the commonwealth has really warned of that, and I think it will impact on decisions that are made at national cabinet and in our states going forward. Protection of the community is really the paramount consideration that has been at the forefront of governments across the country in determining what steps need to be taken in relation to the community and how we have behaved over the last two years.

Last week there were about 200 Victorians who died of COVID. Today we are told 20 people have died. Every week hundreds of people are dying in Victoria—a lot more across the country. We are not out of the woods—nowhere near it—and it is very important to think about the impact of that. We all probably know someone now who has had COVID. The omicron variant is rife in the community. Do we all know someone who has died? I do. In my community quite a few people have died from it. They are elderly people and they are vulnerable people; they are people who if they had not had COVID would not have died at that time. Their lives are very valuable to them and to their families. As hard as it is for some of these decisions to be made and to be complied with, it is being done for a reason, because those people are a part of our community too—the disabled, the children with autoimmune diseases, the elderly who are dying in large numbers still. We are becoming almost desensitised to the fact that that is the case.

If there were 200 people a week being killed on our roads, we would be taking extraordinary additional steps to address that. We all jump in our cars and put on our seatbelts without thinking about it. We are being asked to do something so much greater here at this time because we are in a worldwide pandemic, a once-in-100-year pandemic, something that is very frightening.

You only need to look back 100 years ago to see how devastating that was to communities across the world. No-one really knows how many people died then. The figures in the parliamentary report on that Spanish influenza pandemic say maybe 50 million. A lot of people in Australia died from it—soldiers coming home from war, people impacted in ways that we forgot about. We did not really put to the front of our minds that we might have a pandemic that would have the impact that this one has had. Well, we have, and we have really struggled as a community to deal with it. Vaccinations absolutely took the forefront as soon as vaccines became available, and they have been successful in reducing the severity of the disease for most people.

Late last year we passed legislation in this Parliament to create much more transparency, to take away the decision-making from the chief health officer alone and make him only a part of the story. We have a Pandemic Declaration Accountability and Oversight Committee, recently established and beginning to start its work, looking at the orders to see that the orders comply with the legislation that was passed last year.

There is an Independent Pandemic Management Advisory Committee just about to be established. That will be a panel of experts who will additionally be there to advise the government and our community about what they see as the best way forward and advise, no doubt, on measures that governments are taking and how effective they might be. I think we are all waiting keenly to see the appointment of that committee to work with other committees in our community, to work with government and to increase the transparency that has not existed in the past and which is now becoming apparent. As more and more opportunities are being put before the Victorian community to hear from experts, they will come to understand better why decisions are being made and why orders are being put in place in the way they are. And I think it will also lead to much more discussion about what is needed as we go forward. Do we need to have some of the things we have still got? What is a timely way to retire some of the orders that may exist?

These are all steps that are yet to be taken and will be taken, but we have a motion before us today that requires a decision today, and in the absence of any compelling reasons to change from that I will continue to support the motion.

https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Capture.png 559 988 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2022-02-09 13:22:192022-02-23 13:23:39COVID-19 Vaccinations for MPs
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