Media Releases.
Rosa
Lee Long MP
Member for Tablelands
ElectorateOffice
210 Byrnes St, Mareeba, Far North Queensland 4880
Phone 07 4092 3654. Fax 07 4092 3193
MEDIA RELEASE
TABLELANDS ELIMINATED IN DRAFT REDISTRIBUTION 23/06/08
The elimination of the seat of Tablelands in the proposed redistribution has been slammed as “unforgiveable” by Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP.
“The existing Tablelands seat is huge and is in a growing area – the State Government’s own Draft 2025 Regional Plan predicts another 100,000 people moving to FNQ over the next 17 years and Tablelands would certainly be getting its share of that extra growth,” she said.
“This area has just experienced a massive explosion of population and there are record building approvals to back it up. The voting population increased by nearly 1000 people in just one year.
“I do not believe there is any democracy in this State anymore. More than half of all objections submitted to the Electoral Commission of Queensland supported the retention of Tablelands yet it appears they were ignored.
“The northern end of Tablelands which includes Mareeba has been thrown in to Cook which covers as far as the Cape and Torres Strait – already a huge electorate.
“The southern end of Tablelands has been placed in the new seat of Macrossan, which is also massive and crosses Far North, North and Central Queensland boundaries.
“I have the option of running for either of those two seats.
“I am very disappointed the Tablelands has been split in two because both ends are vital to the Queensland economy. It has a strong community of interest that binds the region together.
“To show such disregard to the people of the Tablelands and the Far North is unforgivable.
“This is all happening because Premier Anna Bligh wants more seats in that little sliver which includes Brisbane, the Gold and Sunshine coasts that already contains two-thirds of the seats –and therefore the power - in this state. “Yet she is not satisfied with that, she wants more and she wants it at the expense of rural and regional Queensland.”
ENDS
03/03/08
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT LAWS
UNDERGO HARSH AMENDMENTS
NEW amendments to the controversial Vegetation Management Act were a direct assault on the rights of Queenslanders, State Parliament has been told.
Speaking after debate on the changes, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said she was strongly opposed to any law which retrospectively applied criminal liability.
“Yet that is what these changes have done, and that is what the ALP have voted to do,” she said.
During debate, Ms Lee Long described the amendments, dealing with definitions and methodology, as raising a number of red flags.
“The first is that I do not in general support retrospective legislation. The people of Queensland are entitled to act according to the legislation of the day and to be secure in the knowledge that both they and the government are bound by the same set of rules, definitions, procedural requirements and so on.
“Someone found guilty is not going to be declared innocent under retrospective legislation and nor should someone who is innocent later be made guilty.
“Similarly, grounds for appeal should not be removed from someone seeking to challenge a government decision. Yet that is exactly what this bill will do.
“It is a direct assault on the rights of average Queenslanders. '“I am particularly alarmed by the criminal implications, and I again quote from the explanatory notes, which state, ‘The retrospective application of criminal liability is justified because the accepted view within Government and the community’ and it goes on to argue that there was some acceptance of the definitions.
“So it appears that there may very well be people who operated legally or at least had access to grounds for appeal to justify their actions who will now retrospectively be stripped of those things.
“Frankly, it is an approach to legislative standards that Chairman Mao and Stalin would have envied. It is certainly exceptionally brutal treatment of citizens’ rights.”
Ms Lee Long also attacked the Government’s deliberate decision not to consult with stakeholders.
“The stakeholders most directly affected--the ordinary people who may as a result of these changes be retrospectively made criminals--were deliberately not given a chance to comment. That is beyond disgraceful.
“That is a total betrayal of the people of this state and is a dark stain on the reputation of the ALP.”
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE
03/03/08
2008 Queenslander Awards open
The 2008 Queenslander, Young Queenslander, and Queenslander Great awards are now open for nominations, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said.
“Nominees do not have to be well-known, or even known to the nominator personally, but they do need to have made a significant contribution to Queensland,” she said.
“Those nominated for the Queensland Great award (either individuals or institutions) should be making ongoing contributions and achievements which have played a significant role in the history and development of the State.”
Ms Lee Long said the Suncorp Queenslander, Young Queenslander and Queensland Great awards helped acknowledge the contributions of outstanding Queenslanders.
Nomination forms are available by going on line at queenslandweek@premiers.qld.gov.au or by calling 3405 5215. Nominations close on 28 March.
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE
03/03/08
CDMA PROBLEMS CONTINUE
MOBILE telephone users with ongoing concerns and issues about the impending scrapping of the CDMA service have been urged to contact Telstra.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said she was aware that the introduction of Telstra’s Next G service, was not satisfying all users.
“I have raised these concerns with the Federal Government and have been advised that they are not yet permitting the CDMA network to close.
“They are instead waiting for a report by the end of this month into whether the Next G technology will provide equivalent service.”
Ms Lee Long said it was important for CDMA users to make informed choices when they did change over.
“It is important for customers to understand that different mobile devices have different capabilities and how each device performs on the network is dependent on both the network coverage and the particular device.
“Telstra labels those devices that it recommends for rural handheld coverage with a “blue tick” to make it easier for customers to choose the right device.
“They also need to do a “like for like” upgrade by ensuring that, if they are using a car kit or external antenna with their CDMA device, they use a car kite or external antenna with their Next G device.
“In the meantime, anyone with concerns about the change from CDMA, or with difficulties with their Next G service, should contact Telstra on 1800 888 888 as a matter of urgency.”
ENDs
19/11/07
FUNDS FLOW FOR TABLELANDS SCHOOLS
MORE than $550,000 is flowing in to non-state Tableland Schools for a range of capital works, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
The funding has been made available under the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Cooler Schools Subsidy Program.
Ms Lee Long said the largest subsidy, of $252,073, had been provided to St Theresa’s School, Ravenshoe for a physical education covered area and store, site works, external services and equipment.
That school had also received $9938 to refurbish classrooms, the library and student amenities.
St Thomas’ School, Mareeba was provided with $198,261 for refurbishment of four general learning areas, site works and external services, and $12,205 for playground equipment and softfall material.
St Josephs’ School, Atherton received $41,731 for airconditioning and $10,070 for upgrade to information technology infrastructure while Mount St. Bernards at Herberton was allocated $10,311 for furniture, equipment, lockers and interactive whiteboards.
Dimbulah’s St Anthony’s School will get a new outdoor store with power with the help of $9626 and St Stephen’s Catholic College, Mareeba, information technology equipment and a shade structure with $9175.
Welcoming the funding, Ms Lee Long said she believed education was one of the foundations upon which young Tablelands could build their future.
ENDS
19/11/07
NEW ARTS FUND LAUNCHED
A new State Government arts fund is now open for applications for projects complementing both the built and natural environments, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said recently.
“The $12 million art+place fund replaces a previous scheme which only allowed funding for works of art as part of a capital works project.
“Under this new scheme councils, not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations, festivals, private sector developers and government departments and agencies can all apply.
“These applications can be for either permanent or temporary commissions.”
Ms Lee Long said applications for the first round of the scheme formally closed on November 30 but for this inaugural round, expressions of interest would be accepted until 1st February 2008.
More information and guidelines can be found by contacting Ms Lee Long’s office on 4092 3654 or going on line at www.arts.qld.gov.au/art+place ENDS
15/11/07
WATER MADNESS SPREADS
NEW laws allowing water restrictions to be enforced even when drought conditions have broken have been passed by the State Government.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said it beggared belief that: “in the midst of the wet season, with torrential rains and floods inundating the tropical coast, that we could see Cairns, Tully and the Tablelands subject to water efficient practices.
“Yet water service providers in areas outside of south-east Queensland will now be required to have an outdoor water conservation plan for reducing outdoor water use and promoting efficient water use. Again, this is to apply not only in times of drought but at all times.
However, that was just one of the bizarre changes made under the Water and Other Legislation Amendment Bill passed this week.
“It is now law that, for areas of Queensland outside of the south-east, the chief executive of NRW will have the power to manage urban water supplies where a significant threat exists to the sustainable and secure water supply.
“I believe that means a bureaucrat could take over control of Cairn’s water supply, or Mareeba’s, Atherton’s or elsewhere under this law.
“It seems the Bligh government’s entire strategy even in times of abundant supply will be water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.”
Ms Lee Long said the real issue was: “the complete and utter failure of governments, both Labor and Coalition, over decades to provide enough water storage infrastructure for the growing needs of Queensland’s swelling population.
“How many significant dams have been built in Queensland in the past 20 years? One!”
"We have wild rivers legislation locking up rivers and watercourses in the one part of the state and country that experts are predicting will continue to have decent rain in the supposed climate change future, that is, in Far-North Queensland.
“We have soaring prices on water, not because it has suddenly vanished from the planet but because the amount harvested and held by infrastructure has remained practically unchanged for decades and is now insufficient for the needs of our growing population, industry, agriculture, tourism and the list goes on.
“However, instead of building more and bigger dams, we are told that the first objective is to cut consumption.
“Drought is part of this nation’s existence. So, too, are the wet seasons that sweep across it. It is vital that this precious resource is harvested and stored for the maintenance of jobs and industry.
“While that should not happen at any cost, it is certainly madness to let millions and billions of litres of rainwater flood out into the ocean each wet season, just to turn around later on and try to take the salt back out of it in massive power-hungry desalination plants.
“In Far North Queensland the Nullinga Dam on the Walsh River is now subject to a feasibility study. It needs a firm commitment to be constructed as soon as possible.
“This government’s own statistics indicate that all available water allocations for rural purposes in the Far North will be used up some time within the next 15 years and the lead time for Nullinga is estimated at around the 10-year mark.
“A clear and firm commitment must be made soon. The mighty Tully-Millstream project, which offers massive clean green hydro-electric power and sustainable irrigation benefits, also needs to be back on the front burner.”
Ms Lee Long said among other changes was the creation of a “mid-path” method of assessing applications to upgrade the security of water allocations when a water Resource Operations Plan was released or amended.
ENDS
14/11/07
KYOTO IMPACT COULD
HIT FARMERS
PRIMARY producers could face a raft of new taxes, fees, levies and charges if a Federal Labor Government signed up to the Kyoto Treaty, Queensland Parliament has been told.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP questioned the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation on the likely impact of Kyoto on the bush.
Ms Lee Long said she expected that signing up to Kyoto: “will result in huge financial burdens on many of Queensland’s primary industries such as dairy, grazing, pig and poultry, agriculture, horticulture and so on.”
The Climate Change Minister, responding to Ms Lee Long’s pressure, said primary producers would “need to play their part”.
“The Minister did not deny that there would be a burden, instead he said he believed dealing with climate change would take a “total” commitment.
“While he promised that impacts would be considered and discussed with all relevant stakeholders he did not give any assurance other than that they would be discussed, and that the State government had no intention of taking anyone by surprise.”
Ms Lee Long said that given the track record of burdens being placed on rural industries and regional areas, she would closely monitor any moves to add to government-imposed costs on essentials such as primary industries.
“Whatever else happens, we need the essentials and that includes food to eat – we can not make it so expensive to produce that we end up with none at all.”
END
03/10/07
FUTURE OF FORMER ATHERTON
STATE SCHOOL SITE STILL UNCLEAR
No decision had yet been made to hand the old Atherton State School site to developers or the Atherton Shire Council, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
Ms Lee Long said she had been advised in writing by the Minister for Natural Resources, in response to a tabled petition on the issue, that the Government was still considering the matter.
“The Minister has advised me that his department has been very active in this matter and that officers have attended every public consultation that has been held on the issue.
“In deciding the most appropriate use for the site, and who the land should be vested in, issues including future accommodation for existing tenants, ecological and socioeconomic values and the needs of both Atherton Shire Council and the community would have to be considered.
“I believe that the Government needs to be responsive to community concerns about what happens on this site, as it will have a major impact not only on the town but also on the future of many organisations.
“It also needs to ensure that, whatever does become of the site, it does not become a financial burden on ratepayers.
“I urge anyone with an interest on this matter, or who supports any of the proposals for the site, to become active participants in the consultation process.
“The community needs to make its voice heard, so that its council representatives have the clearest possible understanding of their desires.”
ENDS
03/10/07
AMALGAMATION PETITIONS ANSWERED
THE NEW Bligh Government was proving as deaf to the wishes of Queenslanders as the previous Beattie regime by so far ignoring thousands of petitioners opposed to forced Tableland council amalgamations.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said she had tabled petitions with 2465 signatures since August 8, all calling for Atherton, Eacham, Herberton and Mareeba Shires to remain unamalgamated.
“New Local Government Minister Warren Pitt has proven as single-minded as his predecessor and will not change the severely flawed amalgamation proposal.
“He admits that the change may not be easy for everyone but that it will happen anyway.
“And while the Minister talks about a government commitment to a smooth transition, ratepayers who do not want this amalgamation are now being expected to pick up some of the tab for it.
“I will continue to oppose this forced amalgamation and urge everyone to have their say when the plebiscite on the issue is held in the near future.
“It is up to us to keep the pressure on and fight for our councils.”
ENDS
06/09/07
NEW CRIME VICTIMS REGISTER
NOW IN PLACE
A redesigned register for victims of crime is expected to allow those affected by violent or sex crimes more information about their attacker.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said the Queensland Corrective Services Victims Register applied not only to the victims, but to immediate family members of a deceased victim, and parent or guardian of a victim under 18, or with a legal incapacity.
“Other recent changes to the former Concerned Persons Register mean that those included on it will be able to get information about a prisoner’s release date, be assured of confidentiality and make submissions to a parole board.”
Ms Lee Long said the interests of victims and the wider community needed to be at the forefront of dealing with crime.
“The victims, and their community, are entitled to have their concerns and issues taken in to account at every stage. They are not the ones who committed the crime.
“At no stage should the system leave them feeling as if they were the criminals.”
More information about the Victims Register can be gained by contacting Ms Lee Longs office at 210 Byrnes Street Mareeba, or by telephoning 4092 3654.
06/09/07
NEW HOUSING BODY FORMED
A NEW statutory body with extensive powers to override normal planning constraints has been created to take control of urban development in designated areas.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said the Urban Land Development Authority was expected to plan, carry out, promote, coordinate and control development in urban development areas.
“The ULDA was created by legislation passed in the most recent sittings of Parliament and has the authority to act anywhere that an “urban development area” is declared by the State Government,” she said.
“And the FNQ2025 strategic plan will be the first statutory development plan outside the South East to come in to effect under this new planning regime.”
The ULDA has been described as being intended to focus on the operation of the land supply pipeline from raw land right through to completed development.
“The government claims this will help make more land available more quickly for housing, with the intention that it will in turn help ease the housing crisis.
“The Tablelands electorate is desperately short of public and private accommodation options.
“Families on public housing waiting lists can wait for up to 10 years, while median wage earners in my electorate can expect to see half or even more of their take-home pay disappear on rent for a basic three-bedroom home.”
“The Tablelands is going through an extended period of strong population growth and we need to ensure there is sufficient land available for subdivision to house the low, medium and high income earners of the region.
“The cutting of so much red tape would help in that regard.”
However Ms Lee Long also sounded a warning over just how far the ULDA powers would stretch, citing seven breaches in fundamental legislative principles including stripping away many appeals process, its’ capacity to over-ride or ignore town planning schemes and to bypass environmental and other planning concerns.
“Let us remember that there would not be a housing affordability crisis if our state and federal governments had been doing their jobs instead of spending so much time trying to blame each other for the problem.”
06/09/07
Cyclone Larry Insurance Issues
ALMOST 18 months after Cyclone Larry struck some Far Northerners are still battling to overcome its impact – despite having had paid-up insurance policies on their homes, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long has told Parliament.
Ms Lee Long, speaking during the most recent sittings, said she wanted to highlight: “the disgraceful way some sectors of the insurance industry have acted.”
“In one instance an Indigenous pensioner who had managed over many years to own her own home and who had been paying full premiums to her insurance company was told she would get nothing because it claimed the home had not been adequately maintained,” Ms Lee Long said.
“In another instance, the insurer of a family that again had paid insurance cover over their home which was damaged by Cyclone Larry had workmen replace the iron roof and had them rip out most of the electrical fittings and plumbing but then they walked away after making a take it or leave it offer of just some $70,000.
“I am advised that when Ergon inspected the home later it found four serious defects and three minor ones in the electrical system.
“In a third example, a constituent’s home was blown sideways off its stumps and suffered other severe damage. This third insurer initially made the house safe but left a lot of other repairs still undone. Soon after, the house suffered more damage which was exacerbated by the still un-repaired damage from Larry.
“Today, so long after the event, no further repairs have been authorised by this insurer and that has left the owners to struggle through a winter where temperatures fell to minus-10 degrees with a leaky roof, broken windows and a home open to the elements of the weather.
“This is an abysmal situation for families who have dutifully met their obligations and paid their insurance premiums. Much of the insurance industry did respond rapidly and responsibly and provided the expected level of support for policy holders, but not so in these cases.
“In each of these instances I am aware that the constituents made extensive efforts to resolve these matters by negotiation, yet here they are, three families struggling to overcome a massive natural disaster who have discovered that the safety net they thought they had, the safety net they in fact paid for, was either worthless or largely worthless.
“These families only want what they paid for: they want their homes back and to be warm, safe and dry once again.”
19/03/07
CORPORATISATON LEADS TO WORSE SERVICE
CORPORATISATION of public functions such as water supply, energy and railways meant public interest was torn out and replaced by the profit motive, State Parliament has been told.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said that while corporatisation, and the spread of government-owned corporations, had been part of government policy on both sides of politics for many years it had reaped a harsh toll on ordinary Queenslanders.
“The mad drive to corporatise has nothing to do with the management skills of public servants,” she said.
“The difference between public sector entities and corporate entities rests on just one factor. Public sector entities take into account the public interest in their decisions. Corporate entities, including GOCs, do not. Instead, they bow down to the all-powerful profit motive.
“The public good disappears as an issue compared to the lucrative siren-song of higher and higher profits and earnings.
“The dollar is everything and be damned to anyone who might have to suffer along the way to generating a bit more revenue.”
Ms Lee Long said the focus on profits suited Governments as they reaped the rewards through being the sole shareholders.
“When these kinds of corporations are established we do not see them employing hundreds more Queenslanders. Instead, time and again, we see them rationalising their workforces and putting Queenslanders out of jobs. Again, for one simple reason, to make as much profit as possible and be damned whom it hurts.”
Ms Lee Long said she believed governments had a very clear role to play in funding nation-building schemes such as the Snowy Mountains scheme or the Ord River scheme.
“Leaving decisions about how we build this state and this nation at the mercy of profit-riven executives is, I believe, a recipe for disaster.” ENDS.
19/03/07 SAFER ROADS FOR TRUCKS MEAN
SAFER ROADS FOR ALL
The Beattie Government has admitted it needs to spend more on roads to improve safety, especially for heavy vehicles, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
Ms Lee Long pressured the government on road conditions, particularly the provision of rest stops, during debate on new regulations imposing harsh penalties on truck drivers for log book and driving hour offences.
“There is no doubt road safety is an important issue, but it really needs far more commitment on the part of this government to make a real difference,” Ms Lee Long told Parliament.
“These kinds of regulatory changes in reality do nothing more than make it more and more difficult for our heavy transport operators to meet the growing demands that are placed upon them.
“Instead of improving roads and instead of making a physically safer environment for all drivers, we get cheap and nasty solutions such as harsher penalties and tighter conditions.
“Let us consider the reality facing our heavy transport operators. A truck carrying freight for Far North Queensland leaves Brisbane. The driver is required to stop after 12 hours. He is then required to rest for a certain period, then drive for a set period and then stop to rest again and so on. That is a regulatory requirement. If he does not do that he faces penalties which directly affect his ability to earn a living.
“But are there rest stops at 12 hour intervals? Are they safe and large enough for a number of heavy transport trucks, of firm footing and useable in all weather? Do they have such very basic facilities such as toilets, a tap and maybe even a table with a roof over it where a driver can have a meal? Are there such stops 12 hours in each direction from Townsville, Cairns, Mount Isa, Mackay, Toowoomba, Kingaroy, Karumba and all of the other places that heavy transport travels to and from?
“If this government is going to insist on these driving restrictions for heavy transport drivers, then surely it is reasonable to think that it should provide at least the most basic facilities to make it possible for drivers to abide by these regulations.”
Responding to those comments, the Transport Minister agreed that more money needed to be spent on roads.
Ms Lee Long said she believed the government had a duty of care to ensure drivers could operate in a reasonable and safe road environment.
ENDS
19/03/07 HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO MEET WITH WIDOWER
THE grieving husband of a 29-year-old mother of five, who died after seeking treatment three times at Mareeba Hospital, is to have a meeting with senior Health Department officials.
The meeting follows repeated attacks on the Beattie Government by Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long over both the woman’s death, and a Health Department statement that her treatment in the days before was “appropriate”.
Speaking in Parliament last week Ms Lee Long detailed the treatment provided during three visits to Mareeba Hospital as being: “almost negligible.”
“In the four days between when this mother of five first presented at this hospital to when she left to attend another hospital, her treatment consisted of about half an hour on a drip and twice being told to go home and take her own painkillers.”
The “appropriate” description of this treatment was, she said: “simply an insult not only for the family but also the community and to all mothers, particularly nursing mothers.”
Ms Lee Long repeated her call for an independent investigation into the incident and also called for answers to a range of questions, including what the doctor’s qualifications were, if they required supervision, if there were any instructions to turn people away, if enough beds were available and why this woman received little or no treatment until reaching Cairns Base Hospital.
Ms Lee Long said that since then the Acting Health Minister had arranged for the woman’s husband and herself to meet with senior Health Department officials about the matter.
However Ms Lee Long said the entire health system had not seen any real change since the Bundaberg Hospital debacle and the Forster, Davies and CMC inquiries.
“Just last week recognition of Labor’s failings was made by the acting health minister, who admitted that there are still about 500 beds fewer in our hospitals than there were 10 years ago, even though today we have about a million more people in Queensland--and the population is rising.
“The reasons this woman died are probably many and varied, but it is difficult to reasonably conclude that her treatment at the Mareeba Hospital was appropriate.
“If that really is Queensland Health’s conclusion, then I believe that anyone presenting at a Queensland public hospital should be very concerned indeed.”
Ms Lee Long said she had written to the Attorney General requesting an investigation into the matter.
ENDS
LIABILITY INSURANCE RELIEF FOR
SMALL COMMUNITY GROUPS
Many small community groups will be freed of the public liability insurance burden following changes to laws governing incorporation, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP said yesterday.
Ms Lee Long was speaking after Parliament agreed to alterations which dump the existing mandatory requirement for all incorporated groups to take out public liability cover.
“As welcome as this is, it does not apply to all incorporated community bodies,” Ms Lee Long said.
“Those which hold land on trust under the Land Act 1994 must still take out public liability insurance. This will be the case for any organisation which owns or leases land. The reasoning is that those organisations are generally considered to be larger and more likely to take out public liability insurance as a result of a risk assessment.
“None the less, many smaller associations – as we all know, there are many thousands of them – will be freed of this public liability burden.
“It has been a very onerous burden. Some organisations were completely unable to obtain affordable public liability cover and ceased to operate completely. One of these in my electorate is the Jacaranda Festival in Herberton.”
Ms Lee Long said groups that no longer faced a mandatory requirement to take out public liability cover were required to investigate whether they should still have it or not, and to report their decision to members and other parties that may be affected.
In other changes, financial reporting and auditing requirement have been changed, especially for small organisation with total income and gross assets of less than $100,000.
“Those groups which qualify will no longer have to meet full audit and reporting requirements. For those groups it will be possible for a financial statement to be accompanied by a signed statement from the president or treasurer indicating financial records are kept in a way to properly record income, expenditure and dealing with assets and liabilities.”
Other amendments made minutes more accessible to members, what constitutes a quorum and other minor matters. ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE 23-02-07
TIGHT NEW LAWS FOR YOUNG DRIVERS
TIGHT new laws will mean major changes to how young drivers earn their licences, and what and how they drive for years afterward, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
“The learner licence age is to be reduced to 16, while the minimum period someone will have to be on their learners licence will be extended to 12 months,” she said.
“Learner drivers will have to record 100 hours of certified supervised on-road driving experience. Learner licences will be valid for three years and those wanting a motorbike licence will now be required to have held a provisional car licence for 12 months before being able to gain a motorcycle learners licence.
“There will also be changes to the provisional licencing system, A two-stage process is to be put in place with much tighter restrictions in the first stage, particularly for those under 25. These restrictions include compulsory P-plates, passenger restrictions between 11pm and 5am and only being able to carry one non-family member passenger aged under 21 during these times.
“High-powered vehicle restrictions for first and second stage provisional drivers will apply. Other restrictions will affect all mobile phone use and mobile loud speaker functions for supervisors and passengers of learner-drivers.
“Late night restrictions will apply for young drivers returning from a licence suspension or disqualification or for driving under a good behaviour licence, and they will have to pass a 12-month hazard perception test to progress to a second stage provisional licence.
“Provisional and open licence holders under 25 who have been disqualified will be required to recommence at the first stage provisional licence.”
Ms Lee Long said these changes were very wide ranging and would have a major impact on young drivers.
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE
22/02/07
NO NUKES FOR NORTH
GLOW-IN-THE-DARK nuclear solutions to power supply issues were an insanity, especially when the Far North was rich in hydro-electric generation options, State Parliament has been told.
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long, speaking in debate on the Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Bill in the last sittings of Parliament revealed that the Far North had been slated for two massive hydro-electric schemes as far back as the 1950s.
“These hydro-options need to be brought back to the table as a clean, green viable alternative to Howard’s mad nuclear plan, and they are a better answer than more dirty coal-fired power stations,” Ms Lee Long said after parliament.
While one of the schemes, the Tully Millstream, was widely recognised as having the potential to generate 500 megawatts of power, an even bigger scheme on the Herbert River had been left to languish on the shelf for almost 50 years, she said.
“In a follow-on to Koombooloomba Dam and the Kareeya hydro scheme, a dam and seven weirs were planned for the Herbert River in a project that would have created a truly enormous water storage area, provided flood mitigation for the coastal lowlands around Ingham and, importantly, provided even more hydro-electric generation capacity than Tully-Millstream.
“I understand that all the engineering and other works had been completed, and that the dam was to have been built south-west of Mount Garnet.
“It was ready to go when the conservatives took power in Queensland in the late 1950s and killed it off.
“This project, and the Tully Millstream, are both far better answers to our future power needs and deserve to receive commitments from this government to go ahead as soon as practicable.
ENDS
MEDIA RELEASE
23-02-07
WIDER FOCUS NEEDED ON ROAD SAFETY
GOVERNMENT attention needed to be directed to all areas of road safety, and not solely on enforcement, State Parliament has been told.
Speaking during debate on laws introducing drug-driving testing provisions to Queensland, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said that while the Government was creating harder and tougher laws governing drivers, it also had a duty of care to do much better in meeting its own responsibilities.
Those responsibilities, she said, included: “the level of maintenance on our Queensland road networks, including the roadside environment, road cambers, the grip or glasslike smoothness of some asphalt, the sealing of shoulders, widening and so on.
“Road users are already paying far more in fuel taxes excise, registration and so on than is being spent on our roads.”
The new drug-driving laws will operate similarly to the existing drink-driving laws and will allow police to stop drivers at random for testing. That testing will involve a roadside saliva testing process that could take up to 10 minutes or more. For a first offence, penalties of up to $2,100 and or up to nine months jail would apply.
However, unlike drink-drive testing where a blood alcohol concentration of .05 or above must be detected before an offence is committed, drug-drivers face a 0.0 limit on a drug-saliva test.
“That is, if ANY concentration no matter at what level, is detected of a relevant drug, then an offence will be considered to have been committed,” Ms Lee Long said.
ENDS
23/02/07
TRUCK DRIVERS TRAPPED BETWEEN
RULES AND REALITY
TRUCK drivers were being trapped between harsher and harsher laws, tighter and tighter schedules and a growing lack of vital infrastructure, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long has told Parliament.
Speaking during debate on the Transport Legislation and Another Act Amendment Bill at the last sittings of parliament – which introduced drug-driver testing - Ms Lee Long said government needed to do more to improve safety in the heavy transport industry.
Drivers in the long-distance trucking industry had been identified as among those most likely to be affected by drugs while driving, because stimulants were used to help them stay awake.
“While impaired driving is unacceptable, here is a clear example of how only part of the problem is being addressed,” she said.
“We expect our transport needs to be met on demand. This means that drivers are often forced to cover long distances on extremely strict schedules.
“Government laws deem that they are also expected to stop at designated times, to rest for designated times, and to keep log books showing this.
“Clearly all these things clash with the commercial imperative and the fatigue management requirements.
“Add to that the fact that there are very limited rest areas – let alone rest areas with even basic toilet facilities – suitable for heavy transport to park in and drivers wind up in an unenviable position. Surely this government has a duty of care in meeting its obligations in making it possible for those drivers to meet their conflicting goals.
“Increasing penalties – for example demerit points now accumulate on log book offences, with maximum penalties which can go as high as $4500 all applying to the driver. Those hard-working drivers can ill-afford to lose $300 or $600 per week, or nearly a week’s pay, let alone anything higher.
“The drivers believe it is high time that this government faced up to its workplace health and safety obligations and provided them with suitable truck stops. As yet, there is no help for the driver to resist the pressure of delivery times and no provision of more rest stops with basic things like toilets, let alone a covered table and bench to sit on”.
Ms Lee Long said she supported action against drug-impaired driving in the heavy transport sector but believed one of the first things that should be done was to reduce the need for so many drivers to feel as if they have to take such substances.
ENDS
14th December 2006 MAREEBA SCHOOL’S
$1 MILLION BOOST
Mareeba’s St Stephen’s Catholic College has been granted more than $1 million in State funds to help build new class rooms and other facilities, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
The funding has been provided under the Capital Assistance Scheme which is aimed at easing the cost of projects at eligible non-State schools.
“This is great news for St Stephens and its students,” Ms Lee Long said.
“I have been advised that $1,062,785 will be made available.
“It will be used to help fund construction of five new general learning areas, pupil amenities, administration, pedestrian travel, physical education and art facilities.
“Site works, external services, furniture and equipment are also covered.”
Ms Lee Long said the funding would be a welcome boost for the school which has just completed its first academic year.
28/07/06
Local councils and community organisations have a chance to snare a
share of $100 million in State funds, set aside to help celebrate
Queensland’s 150th birthday in 2009.
Ms Lee Long said guidelines and registration forms were available on the internet at www.dlgpsr.qld.gov.au or by contacting her office.
23/06/06
FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT WASHES
HANDS
ON DIESEL PRICE
THE
Federal Government, which collects 38 cents per litre in fuel excise, has
washed its hands of any responsibility for the high price of diesel fuel,
Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said yesterday.
Ms
Lee Long said she had put mounting community concern on the issue before
the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, who had admitted high fuel prices
were bad for consumers and the economy and were causing immense difficulty
for drivers.
“However
he has insisted that the prices are caused by factors outside the
Government’s control,” Ms Lee Long said.
“It
is a bizarre argument that a government already taxing road users via a
fuel excise wants credit for not taxing us even more than they do now.
“It
is classic Liberal/National arrogance to try and tell us we should be
grateful we only have a crippling tax burden, because they could easily be
slugging us for even more.”
“We
have our own reserves, our own oil rigs and our own refineries and that
should be taken into account. By the Treasurer’s own admission these
high prices are bad for everyone.”
CAIRNS
MENTAL HEALTH UNIT
DENIED
NEW INQUIRY
“In
his response the minister spoke about recognising the value of external
reviews, he spoke about action plans, he spoke about updated policy and
procedures but he said nothing about an independent inquiry,” Ms Lee
Long said.
Ms
Lee Long said she would continue to push for adequate services not only at
Cairns Base, but in Mareeba and Atherton hospitals as well.
ENDS
01/03/06
GOVT' MUST IMPROVE CAIRNS BASE OR FACE HEALTH MELTDOWN
THE STATE
GOVERNMENT must “unreservedly” commit to better facilities, staffing
and resources to head off a meltdown at Cairns Base Hospital, Parliament
has been told.
Member for
Tablelands Rosa Lee Long MP, speaking on the floor of Parliament about the
traumatic circumstances behind the suicide of a local former
schoolteacher, also called for a higher priority on mental health.
“There
is a high focus on road deaths these days, and rightly so but I think
equal attention should be given to our increasingly depressed society and
methods to fix their problems as well,” she said.
Earlier on
the same day Ms Lee Long put the Health Minister under the microscope over
the issue of a woman with seven previous suicide attempts succeeding on
her eighth, only a few days after being released from Cairns Base.
“On the
seventh attempt she cut her throat and was rushed to Cairns Base
Hospital,” Ms Lee Long said.
Speaking
outside Parliament Ms Lee Long said the woman was originally going to be
released without even having been seen by a doctor.
“I
intervened and the patient was seen by a professional, but the result was
still the same. She was deemed fit enough to go home and was released.
Just six days later, on her eighth attempt, she succeeded in doing exactly
as her family and friends feared.
“Cairns
Base Hospital is in melt down. Staff members are dedicated and hard
working but they are crippled by a lack of beds, funding, resources and
staff. That is more reason for the Atherton and Mareeba hospitals to be
more fully utilised.”
Ms Lee
Long said the Beattie Government had been ignoring warning bells for
years.
“This
penny-pinching government must commit unreservedly to improving the
facilities available, increasing staff and properly resourcing the Cairns
Base Hospital to ensure that people in their hour of need get appropriate
help.
ENDS
21-04-06. HEALTH
CRISIS A COMPLEX ISSUE
THE FEDERAL
government’s abysmal failure to provide enough doctor training places
did not let the Beattie Government off the hook for its part in the
collapse of public health services, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long
has told Parliament.
She was
speaking during debate on a motion attacking the Federal Government for
not training enough doctors and nurses, as identified in a recent
Productivity Commission report.
Ms Lee Long
said the crisis crippling the provision of health services has been coming
for decades, with warning stretching back 20 years.
“There
is no doubt that the Productivity Commission was correct in finding that
the federal government is responsible for funding university based
education and training places for health workers,” she said.
“Instead of
funding additional training places, it has deliberately chosen to sit back
and let health services collapse.
There had been
more than enough time to train young Australians and Queenslanders to meet
the need, spelt out in the Commissions report as being 955 extra medical
places and 6,430 extra nurse training places nationally.
“What
do we get from those in the pampered halls of federal power? A promise of
less than half the necessary number of doctor places and less than
one-sixth the necessary nurse numbers,” Ms Lee Long said.
“That is a
total betrayal of every Australian and Queenslander on hospital waiting
lists and a total betrayal of every Australian and Queenslander in a
regional or rural area who has to travel hundreds or even thousands of
kilometres for medical attention. “It is a total betrayal of mothers who
are forced to give birth on the side of the road as they struggle to reach
a distant maternity ward in time.”
Ms Lee Long
condemned the Federal coalition: “for their arrogant disregard of the
people of this nation in failing to ensure enough doctors and nurses are
trained right here in Queensland.”
However a
large measure of fault lay with the State government which is responsible
for the public hospital system.
“It is the
state government--and for most of the past two decades in Queensland that
has meant an ALP government--that manages that vital service,” she said.
“It
is the state that is solely responsible for having created a work
environment so bad that hundreds and hundreds of doctors and nurses have
left year after year.
“Surely, as
obvious as the need to train more doctors might have been, so, too, was it
blindingly obviously that we needed to keep those doctors and nurses that
we were lucky enough to already have.
“We
have heard nothing to convince us that we should suddenly trust the
assurances of the same government that insisted for years that our public
hospital system was just fine, thank you very much.
“Much more
needs to be done. This motion recognises that responsibility for creating
university places lies with an uncaring federal coalition but,
significantly, the other part lies with this ALP state government. They
all need to get real.
“We need to
realise that the health of our constituents is the first and primary
responsibility of every level of government,” Ms Lee Long said.
ENDS
18/11/05
NEW
dams were the only answer to Queensland’s worsening water crisis, State
Parliament has been told.
“I think a
most telling comment in documents accompanying this bill says that: “The
current water supply shortage being experienced in south east Queensland
raises immediate and longer-term issues about the actions necessary to
protect the security of the State’s essential water supply needs,” she
said
“There is only one way to ensure we have enough water, and that
is to store it in dams.
“We simply need to build more dams. It is not complicated. It is
the policy which has worked for decades, that has watered our towns and
cities, and opened up vast stretches of country. And it is the dumping of
that policy which has led us directly into this crisis.”
Speaking after parliament Ms Lee Long said she would continue to
push for Nullinga Dam on the Walsh, and to have the Tully Millsteam hydro
electricity generating scheme put back on the drawing board.
“These two projects would transform the entire north while, in
the case of Tully-Millstream, providing clean, green power in massive
quantities.
“We live
in the wettest part of the driest inhabited continent on the planet,
surely we can do better.”
ENDS
18/11/05
GOVERNMENT AGREEMENTS
WATER
woes now plaguing Queensland had their genesis in a joint Federal-State
agreement made in the mid-1990s, Member for Tablelands Rosa Lee Long said
yesterday.
Ms
Lee Long said the current no-dams, charge-for-everything attitude to water
was based firmly on a 1994 Council of Australian Government agreement
which claimed not enough was being charging for water in rural areas.
“Those
COAG participants then agreed that full cost pricing for water must be
implemented across Australia,” Ms Lee Long said.
The
Member for Tablelands outlined the background to the existing water regime
in debate on the Water Amendment Bill at a recent sittings of Parliament.
“In
1994 we had a federal Labor government under Keating, a Labor government
in Queensland and a variety of Liberal and Labor governments in all the
other states and territories,” she said.
“Since
then, the federal government has changed hands to the Liberal-National
coalition under Howard and Anderson and then Vaile which currently has the
Nationals holding the balance of power.
“In
Queensland, we had a term of a National-Liberal coalition in conjunction
with the federal coalition before the state returned to Labor in 1998. Yet
nothing was turned around during these terms in favour of the rural
conservative voters.
“The
changed control of the water in this country and this state is now through
bipartisan or converged political agreement and control.”
Things
were not likely to get better anytime soon, she said.
“The
Queensland Water Plan 2005-2010 will bring in new charges next year, and
they will be reviewed again just two years after that.
“Where
have all our taxes, fees, levies and charges gone?” Ms Lee Long asked.
“Not
into health, not into our water supply and not on our roads. We do not
even seem to have enough for anything. But we can afford to fly the
Premier around the world and, more recently, to the Melbourne Cup.
“I
hope his cup runneth over, because for the rest of us it is a damned dry
drink indeed.”
27/10/05
THE Beattie Government should hand its head in shame
at being responsible for the crisis in public health, Member for
Tablelands Rosa Lee Long has told Parliament.
Ms Lee Long, speaking after the Government announced
it would be raising taxes to pay for vital repairs to the public hospital
system, said Queenslanders already paid for a free public health service.
“We already pay more than enough to have first
world facilities and a full complement of top-flight medical
professionals--but what do we get? We get hundreds of millions of dollars
of public money spent on football fields and pedestrian bridges and
cultural precincts while our hospitals are running down, our few remaining
doctors are overworked and our nurses are nailed to the wall,” she said.
“For nearly 16 years, health in this state has
reflected the priorities of Labor governments.
“Who caused it--who sat on top of the heap and
directed money into high-profile vote- buying projects, instead of looking
after the health of Queenslanders? None other than Premiers Goss and
Beattie--that is who,” she said.
“Who stood up in this place year after year and
said everything was fine in Queensland Health? ALP premiers and ALP health
ministers.
“Who told us just months ago, while Queenslanders
were dying under the knife, that it was all okay and that our waiting
lists were the shortest in the country? This ALP government--that is
who.”
Ms Lee Long said the Beattie Government did not own
up to anything until they were caught out by “one gutsy nurse.”
“And what is the best they can do now? Bring in
higher fees and charges and consider means testing for surgery, specialist
outpatient services, spectacle subsidies, pharmaceutical safety nets and
dental health services,” Ms Lee Long said.
Speaking after parliament she said it was
“disgraceful” that the people of Queensland were being asked to fork
out to fix the under-funding of health which had gone on for most of the
past two decades.
“Now that they have been caught out, the best they
can come up with is to betray the very basis of a free public hospital
system.”
“‘Sorry’ is not good enough. Everyone in this
so-called Team Beattie should hang their heads in shame, shame and more
shame.”