Legislative Council Thursday 24 May 2018

Ms  FORREST  (Murchison) - Mr President, I welcome the opportunity to make some comments in reply to Her Excellency's speech on the opening of the Forty-Ninth Parliament.

I do not intend to cover areas more appropriately addressed in a reply to the state budget, which is almost upon us. I expect many of the election commitments will be reflected there.

I am pleased to note Her Excellency's comments regarding Tasmania leading the nation in electing over 50 per cent of women to the House of Assembly.  Of course, until very recent times the Legislative Council has had 40 per cent female members and with the election of another woman to the seat of Prosser, we are now at 47 per cent.  Indeed, we are doing well in the gender diversity measure.

Read more ...

Legislative Council Tuesday 28 November 2017

Ms  FORREST (Murchison ) - Mr President, I wish to make a fairly brief contribution on adjournment.  In recent days a national stroke audit has been released which clearly shows disturbing truth about lack of adequate and appropriate care for victims of stroke, particularly in the north-west and north of the state. 

A bit of background regarding stroke statistics in Australia.  One stroke occurs every nine minutes; that is 56 000 new strokes each year, of which many occur in regional areas.  Regional Australians are 19 per cent more likely to have a stroke than their city counterparts.  Stroke is the leading cause of death and disability, costing over $5 billion a year.

Read more ...

Legislative Council Thursday 19 October 2017

Ms  FORREST (Murchison ) - Mr President, I want to ask a question of the Government in light of the debate we have just had, particularly with regard to the money referred to for the King Island shipping service and the response the Leader provided.  As I said in my contribution, the minister advised the committee on 10 August the $900 000 to secure that interim service before the Investigator II could start - I am reading Hansard - would be paid out of the island shipping emergency fund.

Read more ...

Legislative Council - Wednesday 18 October 2017

Ms  FORREST (Murchison ) - Mr President, as it is only 4 o'clock, I am wondering why we are not going with the motion of the member for Mersey.  We were set to sit until 6 o'clock and that would give us more time tomorrow.  I do not know how long people will speak on that motion, but we have another couple of things on tomorrow, so I am wondering why we are rising now, rather than using the time to go on with the member for Mersey's motion.  I think it would be a better use of time than finishing this early.

Legislative Council Thursday 10 November 2016

GAMING CONTROL AMENDMENT (COMMUNITY INTEREST) BILL 2016 (No. 65)

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - Mr President, I will make a brief contribution and I will speak further in the Committee stage.  

To give members the heads up, the amendment has to be redrafted slightly to properly reflect my request to have retrospective nature removed from this bill.

Read more ...

[12.33 p.m.]  Mrs ARMITAGE (Launceston) (by leave) - Mr President, in accordance with the provisions of standing order 32(3) I move -

That the Council does now adjourn for the purpose of discussing a matter of public importance, namely: 

The current crisis in the Launceston General Hospital emergency department and the public concerns surrounding it.

Mr PRESIDENT - In accordance with the Standing Orders, are there three members prepared to rise in support of the proposed motion? That being the case, I again refer all members to what was stated at the commencement of the morning,  that the duration of the debate shall not exceed two-and-a-half hours. There is no right of reply and at the conclusion of the debate the member for Launceston will seek leave to withdraw the motion.

Read more ...

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - Mr President, I am using this opportunity on adjournment to make some comments I wished to make this morning during the joint sitting, but was not given the call to do so.

Mr President, as we know, casual vacancies in the Senate are filled in accordance with section 15 of the Constitution by a meeting of the state legislature, both Houses, or only one in the case of Queensland.  Prior to 1975 the convention was to appoint members of the same party.  This convention was broken twice in 1975.  A successful referendum in 1977 led to a constitutional change enshrining the convention requiring the nominee to be a member of the same party.

Read more ...

[5.58 p.m.]

Ms  FORREST (Murchison) - Mr President, I want to make a brief contribution and pose a question to the Government.  A constituent of mine over the last two to three months has had a total of over 100 head of sheep shot on nine separate occasions.  These sheep have been shot by a person or persons who are very capable shooters as the sheep have almost all, if not all, been shot through the neck and left in the paddock to die.  These shootings have occurred on my constituent's farm where he and his wife and four children live.  This is a very distressing time for him and the family and to this time the farmer has chosen not to inform the younger children so as to try to avoid undue stress.

Read more ...

[3.00 p.m.]
Ms FORREST  (Murchison) - Mr President, we get an opportunity a couple of times a year in this place to deliver what has often been titled a 'grievance debate', where we have the opportunity to raise pretty much any matter or issue or area of interest to us as members, or our electorate, and this is one of those times.

Read more ...