Legislative Council, Tuesday 18 June 2024

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

1. With regard to specialist palliative care services provided by the multi-disciplinary team in Burnie:

 a. What specific services are provided by the multi-disciplinary team;
 b. What hours are these services provided;
 c. How are these services accessed; and
 d. How are patients and/or their families informed of these services?

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1. With regard to the current passenger transport service that replaced the former Redline bus service from Burnie to Hobart, what provisions have been made to assist persons with a mobility or other relevant disability to manage the required transfer between three different services this service now requires, including:

  a. Assistance with changing buses;
  b. Assistance with luggage that is required to be stored in the storage lockers under the bus; and
  c. The need for passengers to purchase three different bus tickets to complete the journey?

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A recent TasWater account sent to a constituent of mine had a “Return to Sender if undelivered” address on the envelope for an address in Victoria. I note the postal address for TasWater on the website in a Hobart address.

1. Why does TasWater use a service outside Tasmania to handle undelivered mail?

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With regard to Community Nursing services on the West Coast;

1. What are the current hours of operation of Community Nursing services in each town on the West Coast;
2. What is the number of nurses employed in Community Nursing Services by headcount and FTE;
3. What is the average waiting time to be seen by a Community Nurse in each West Coast town;
4. What are the numbers of vacancies in this area; and if any
a. What measures or recruiting efforts are being undertaken to address any of these vacant positions?

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Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for EDUCATION, Ms PALMER

Before I ask my question of the Minister for Education, I will also congratulate her on taking on this very significant portfolio. One of my first phone calls after the election to congratulate her, particularly on being Minister for Education, was to raise a long standing concern I have on behalf of my community of Montello, about the inadequacy of the current funding allocation to upgrade Montello Primary School, to make it safe, accessible, fit for purpose and contemporary, just as every school should be.

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Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the construction of a telecommunications tower in the Granville Harbour area, as part of Telstra’s commitment to regional Australia under the Federal Government’s Mobile Black Spot program I am informed delays to commencement are due to matters related to Parks and Wildlife Services (PWS):

a. What is the reason for these delays;
b. Have these reasons now been addressed to enable construction; and
c. What is the revised timeline and date for completion and becoming operational?

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Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the $10 million of funding allocated initially in the 2020-2021 State budget related to the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area under the Minister for Parks’ portfolio, could you please provide a breakdown of:

1. the allocation/expenditure of all funding spent to date including:
   a. the purpose of each of these funding allocations;
   b. the dates of each allocation; and

2. the amount of any residual funds including any approved or proposed purposes for these funds.

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Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the way retail pricing is set by the Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator (OTTER), and noting:

• the current energy mix in Tasmania;
• the model uses Victorian forward pricing as the reference and variable inputs from Hydro Tasmania to then set the wholesale contract price that can be charged;
• that this mechanism has been in place since January 2014; and

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Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to a JackJumpers media release of 25 September 2023 titled “JackJumpers launch into schools with Huon Aquaculture”, the release states:
Huon Aquaculture will be the presenting partner of the JackJumpers in Schools Program delivering educational outcomes across Tasmania…

Designed by Tasmanian teachers within the Australian Curriculum, the JackJumpers Schools Program has been carefully crafted to align with the Tasmanian education curriculum for Years 3/4 and 5/6, exploring themes of health and wellness, focusing on both mental and physical health and giving students the tools they need to become healthy and happy versions of themselves.

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Legislative Council, Thursday 16 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the North West Private Hospital transition to the Tasmanian Health Service for maternity services:

1. I understand there is still no service agreement or lease agreement in place between the parties to enable service delivery continuity a month away from the Transition date. What does this mean from a ward/clinical care and service delivery perspective?

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Legislative Council, Thursday 16 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the Summary report on the findings from the Tasmanian economic regulator’s inquiry into Bass Island Line’s pricing policies was released in August and noting:

• the significant financial losses made by Bass Island Line since its inceptions;
• comments made by the Minister and TasPorts that have indicated there is no commercial shipping organisation that is suitable to provide the service to King Island, which is required;

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Legislative Council, Thursday 16 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the Summary report on the findings from the Tasmanian economic regulator’s inquiry into Bass Island Line’s pricing policies was released in August:

1. Has the Minister taken any action since the release of this report;
a. If so, what actions have been taken?

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Legislative Council, Wednesday 15 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

(1) With regard to contract variations related to the QuayLink project:

(a) How many variations to the contract have been made to date;
(b) What is the value/cost of each variation; and
(c) What is the reason for each variation?

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Legislative Council, Wednesday 15 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

QUESTION:

(1) With regard to the operations of TasPorts and the recently announced governance review;

(a) Have any external reviews or investigations been conducted into matters related to:

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Legislative Council, Thursday 9 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for SMALL BUSINESS, Mr DUIGAN

With regard to the announcement by Saputo Dairy Australia with regard to the review of the King Island dairy facility, is the minister aware of the possible flow-on impact to many small businesses, including tourism small businesses on King Island, if Saputo was to close the King Island operation?

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Legislative Council, Thursday 9 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRIES and WATER, Ms PALMER

A follow-up question with regard to this matter: does the minister believe the iconic King Island cheese and dairy brand must remain owned by King Island and thus, Tasmania. If so, does she understand the status of this brand, who owns it now?

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Legislative Council, Thursday 10 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRIES and WATER, Ms PALMER

With regard to the announcement by Canadian-owned company Saputo Dairy Australia regarding a so-called 'strategic review' of the King Island Dairy facility:

(1) Has the minister had any communication with Saputo regarding this review and the likely impact on dairy producers on King Island?

(2) Should Saputo decide to sell or close King Island Dairy operations, would the Government consider targeted support to assist impacted King Islanders, including those who run dairy herds?

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Legislative Council, Thursday 9 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the staffing of Western District Tasmania Police stations by local government area:

1. What are the numbers of unfilled positions, by rank, in each of the following LGAs;
i) Burnie
ii) Waratah-Wynyard
iii) West Coast
iv) Circular Head
v) King Island

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Legislative Council, Thursday 9 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

Regarding ambulance services and paramedic staffing in Smithton, Circular Head, noting there has been a review of ambulance services demand across the State to determine the number of paramedics and nature of services in each town – that is volunteer only, single branch, double branch stations.

1. Has the review been completed:
a. If not, when is this expected;
b. If so, have any changes been recommended to North West and West Coast (including King Island) ambulance services regarding station size and number of paramedics;

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Legislative Council, Thursday 9 November 2023

Ms FORREST question to LEADER of the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Mrs HISCUTT

With regard to the works being undertaken at Somerset to replace the Cam River Bridge, noting the additional traffic congestion and long delays in accessing the bridge at peak times in the morning and afternoon getting across the bridge since the Murchison Highway was closed and school has returned:

Is there any requirement to provide traffic management services to assist traffic flows during peak periods;

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