Parliament Week in Review
School is out for NSW Parliament as the last sitting week for the year came to an end. Following from last week, there was continued discussion about water security and the significant role climate change plays in the severity and timing of bush fires.
The week also saw the NSW Government launch their economic blueprint for NSW, which predicts the State’s economy to triple in size over the next two decades reaching $2 trillion a year by 2040. The blueprint predicts that climate change will drive temperatures higher, making extreme weather events more frequent and intense. The report went on to say that the State’s response to climate change has the potential for long term economic impacts stating “our response to drought and higher temperatures will help to determine how much food – and the types of food – we can produce for export from New South Wales.”
The report also calls for a more diversified export base, stating “The changing climate means the economy increasingly will move to non-fossil fuel exports, including hydrogen. The state’s service exports also should become more diverse, with a broader base of overseas education exports, in particular.”
Monday
Environment Minister at odds with Nationals - NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean will not allow cattle to graze in national parks, putting him at odds with the Nationals who want farmers to have access to the land. Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall renewed calls for grazing to be permitted in national parks to help manage fuel loads, with Kean rejecting the call and stating, "The idea that a few cows can stop bushfires is as ridiculous as it sounds."
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party push to allow farmers to conduct hazard reduction burning in national parks - The Shooters are pushing to allow farmers to conduct "small controlled burns" in national parks to safeguard their property. Shooters MLC Robert Borsak said national parks had been mismanaged and were a fire risk to farmers who have properties neighbouring public land. Environment Minister Matt Kean responded to the Shooters’ proposal, saying "It if wasn't so dangerous it would be laughable."
Tuesday
Shooters MP discloses $17m of water assets – Murray MP Helen Dalton has declared she owns more than $17 million of water entitlements in the Murray-Darling basin wants to force politicians to disclose their water interests. The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP, who owns a farm 40 kilometres from Griffith, is preparing a bill that makes such disclosures mandatory. The bill will establish an online water register that allows the public to look up the water entitlements of individuals, investors, foreign companies, and government departments.
Cory Bernardi to retire – Liberal-turned-Conservative senator Cory Bernardi will retire from politics by the end of the year, after failing to make his Conservatives party the dominant right-wing political force in Australian politics.
Wednesday
Berejiklian’s building reform bill hits roadblock – The Berejiklian government has abandoned its attempt to pass its proposed reforms to NSW’s building industry. The reforms were not debated in the upper house this week, after the government pulled the bill as it faced defeat on significant amendments proposed by Labor and the Greens.
Thousands of welfare recipients will sue the federal government over robo-debts – More than 4000 people have joined a class action against the federal government's robo-debt scheme. On Wednesday Peter Gordon, senior partner at Gordon Legal, filed a class action and was joined by Bill Shorten, Opposition spokesman for government services. Gordon and Shorted called for every single case of "income averaging" to be refunded.
Religious nursing homes and hospitals will be able to discriminate on staffing – Under a proposed change to the Morrison government’s religious discrimination bill, religious hospitals and aged care providers will be able to refuse to employ people on the basis of their religion. Attorney-General Christian Porter on Wednesday remarked that this was "probably the most significant change" to his contentious draft bill. The bill already allows other religious bodies, such as schools, to make staffing decisions to maintain “the religious ethos and culture of the organisation”.
Morrison to fast-track $3.8b in spending on road and rail projects to boost economy – The Morrison government will accelerate a $3.8 billion spend on road and rail projects in a bid to boost the economy. The government will bring forward the outlays on major projects by striking agreements with the states to quicken the pace of construction.
Thursday
NSW will get an extra $600m for road projects – The Morrison government will bring forward almost $600 million worth of infrastructure projects across regional NSW to provide a financial boost to drought-hit parts of the state.
Last sitting day of NSW Parliament for 2019 – Both houses broke for summer, with MPs going back to their electorates for the end of year season!
Friday
Sydney’s air quality worse than Shenzhen – On Friday air quality in Sydney was ranked the ninth poorest in the world on Friday, with the visibility index at every suburban monitoring station reaching "hazardous" levels. Air quality was the most hazardous across Sydney's north-west and in parts of the south-west.
Push for inquiry into East Timor gas project – Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick is urging the Morrison government to support a parliamentary inquiry into East Timor's controversial Greater Sunrise oil and gas project in an attempt to stop China funding the project and gaining access to a port 500km off Darwin.
Albanese’s budget policy – On Friday the Opposition Leader mapped out a broad economic blueprint for Labor focusing on prudence and mutual obligation. Albanese argued that business confidence needs to be restored with a tax system that encourages firms to invest in their operations and their workers.