June 30th, 2008 by Kris
The State Government plans to introduce a cost-cutting exercise next month that will leave people with disabilities without an option as to who repairs their wheelchairs.
Under the new arrangements all repairs to wheelchairs provided by Disability SA will now be done by Domiciliary Care’s equipment service or designated service providers. The Minister admitted in Budget Estimates hearings today that it’s a cost-cutting decision.
What it could do is leave many people confined to wheelchairs with the real prospect of being stranded late at night! A number of my constituents are alarmed that support under the new service is not available after 5pm on Sundays and late on weekday nights.
They fear they’ll be forced to use operators whom they don’t trust. They can’t understand why they can’t continue to use the private repair services they have come to trust and depend on.
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June 23rd, 2008 by Kris
Legislation is expected in the Lower House soon that allows police to use sniffer dogs to detect drugs in nightclubs and entertainment areas. If a sniffer dog gives police reasonable suspicion that a person is carrying illegal drugs that person can be searched. The problem with this kind of legislation is that in NSW sniffer dogs were found to wrongfully detect drugs on three out of every four people. What do you think?
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June 20th, 2008 by Kris
In the Upper House, Environment Minister Gail Gago has introduced legislation to ban ‘lightweight’ plastic bags from 1 January next year. Shops such as supermarkets using lightweight plastic bags must offer alternatives. Plastic bags not banned include ‘bags on a roll’ as found in fruit and vegetable stalls, heavier bags used by boutiques and department stores, and bags meeting composting standards. There will be a four-month phasing in period before fines could be imposed of up to $5,000.
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June 19th, 2008 by Kris
In Parliament today I supported a motion for urgent action to save the Coorong. This internationally significant site is dying. If we don’t act immediately, we will lose forever the possibility of recovering the bird, fish and plant life that has existed in the Coorong Lakes for thousands of years. In response, the Rann Government offered nothing but political game playing. They tried to change the wording of the motion to “recognise the efforts of the government to protect and manage the Coorong”.
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June 18th, 2008 by Kris
In Parliament today I had the opportunity to respond to the 2008 State Budget.
There is a lot of good in the Budget, and it is particularly pleasing to see the commitment to the development of public transport in South Australia. There are certainly some visionary elements to it. I always said about the tramline along King William Street that it was a waste of money unless there could be some more appropriate and valuable destination than simply going to the casino on North Terrace. Read the rest of this entry »
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June 12th, 2008 by Kris
| June 21, 2008 |
| 2:00 pm | to | 4:00 pm |
| 2:00 pm | to | 4:00 pm |
National Day of ActionHuman Rights for AllSaturday 21st June 2-4pm
Parliament House steps North Terrace, Adelaide
DEMAND THE REPEAL OF THE NT EMERGENCY RESPONSE LEGISLATION
CONSULT AND NEGOTIATE WITH ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY CONSISTENT WITH THE LITTLE CHILDREN ARE SACRED REPORT
RESTORE THE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT
FUND THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COMMUNITY CONTROLLED SERVICES
SIGN AND IMPLEMENT THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
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June 12th, 2008 by Kris
This was a budget with an eye on the next State election in 2010. The Government put money into a football stadium, the trial desalination plant and the electrification of Adelaide’s rail network. These are three things that the Liberal Opposition has been pushing recently! The Government’s response suggests it is sensitive to its standing in the polls and a little less confident. Borrowings to fund this capital works will mean the state debt, estimated at about $82 million this year, will start to rise to $610m and, by 2011-2012, be close to $2 billion.The Treasurer claims the debt will be managed by large operating surpluses averaging about $350 million a year until 2012.
The big ticket item in the Budget is public transport infrastructure. Adelaide’s major rail lines will be electrified. The program will start with the Noarlunga line later this year, finished by 2013-2014. While there aren’t any announced plans to extend the line to Seaford, there is a Budget line of $2.25 million to start securing a rail corridor to Aldinga. A further $162 million is allocated to extend the tram line from North Terrace to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and for new light rail stock. The extension is expected to be completed by 2010.
In response to the Mullighan Inquiry the Government has earmarked $190 million over four years for the expected increase in children in care. It’s predicted that children in care will increase by 8 per cent per year so this injection of funds is very timely.
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June 11th, 2008 by Kris
The Opposition introduced a motion condemning the Government for not supporting the extension of the Noarlunga Line to Seaford. The Government amended the motion to simply acknowledge the Government’s report on extending a passenger line to Seaford. While the report found the extension technically feasible, it did not justify the expenditure at this time. The current cost is estimated to be $175 million, with a single track viaduct and bridge over the Onkaparinga Valley, and $215 million if the viaduct and bridge accommodate a double track. Additional rail cars would be needed at a cost of about $50 million. It was a bit rich of the Minister for the Southern Suburbs, John Hill, to claim that there needs to be more population before such a definite commitment can be made. A commitment by the Government to extending the rail line to Seaford Rise would be a tremendous spur to population growth in the south.
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