E-Brief #3 | Penny Sharpe MLC

E-brief

With Parliament in recess many people think that MP's are on holiday. This is not the case. The parliamentary committees are meeting and it is time to chance to catch up on all the other meetings, visits and research that cannot be done when parliament is in session.

I am using this time to get out of parliament house and visit various communities, organisations and government programs. I am also working on the next phase of the website which will include a section on current issues and the development of an online forum area.

In the last e-brief I included information on the Government's ten year plan. There is now an internet survey on the website. I encourage you to fill it out and have your say.

Regards,

Penny

NSW Government Announcements

Paul McLeay, the Parliamentary Secretary for Health encouraged the public to have their say in the future of health care in NSW over the next twenty years at www.health.nsw.gov.au/futuresplanning.

Carmel Tebbutt, the Minister for Education and Training announced that almost $23 million in school upgrades and
improvements would take place in schools across the State this holiday period.

IR Minister John Della Bosca argued against the new Independent Contractors legislation.

NSW Government Highlights

Over the next three months the NSW Government is embarking on a project to make a ten year plan for New South Wales. The aims of the project are highly progressive and frankly admirable, for instance the Premier's commitments to public service provision:

If we are to meet the challenges of tomorrow we will need to make achievable and demonstrable improvements in services such as health, education, police and public transport in Sydney and across the State.
We also need to make sure government works as one - not separately - to ensure the public get simple and effective service.
We will focus on early intervention - in schools, in our health system and in our justice system. We firmly believe that prevention is better than a cure - and this will be a primary policy principle across government.

Citizens have the chance to have a say in the plan, not only through the traditional means of letters to MPs, but now also through an internet survey hosted on the NSW Government website.

Committees

Thanks to those who participated in the blog on young people and voter enrolment. In what I think may be a first I have submitted your comments blog style to the committee for consideration.

The committees continue to meet. Here is a list of what on and when you can make a submission.

Upcoming Hearings

Inquiries Receiving Submissions

Out & About

In the last fortnight I:

Attended and spoke (very briefly) the National Homebirth Conference. The conference looked at the latest developments around Australia in providing maternity services, with a special focus on how women in rural Australia need to access better maternity care. There are a number of options in NSW that support one to one midwifery care and homebirth. I would like to all women in NSW with access to all options for maternity care and birth.
Attended the Australian Parliamentary Group on Drug Law Reform AGM. The meeting heard from Dr Alex Wodak about harm reduction strategies being undertaken internationally with a focus on Asia. The media release from the meeting is here.
Visited the Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in Kings Cross and attended the 5 Year Anniversary Seminar of Sydney Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (SMSIC). The outcomes from the trial so far are clear. The centre is saving lives, providing a gateway into treatment and other support from one of the most marginalized groups in our community. Injecting Drug Users. The centre has strong support from the local community, local services such as police and local businesses.

Take Action

If you saw Bernie Banton on Enough Rope this week on ABC TV and want to do something about the effects of asbestos sign the petition calling for a Global Asbestos Ban.
EGO LEMOS will appear in Sydney for the first time on SATURDAY 15th July at the EAST TIMOR BENEFIT CONCERT for "ARTE MORIS" at Petersham Town Hall. 1-4pm. Arte Moris ("Living Art") is an Art/Music/Theatre Centre in Comera (Dili) East Timor for youth and street kids.
Tix at door $20/$12 concession, contact Jefferson Lee for more information.
Support Get Up.org.au's campaign for justice for David Hicks.

Quote of the Week

The 14th of July marks the French national holiday known in English as Bastille Day. In 1790 the Republican Government commissioned the Fête de la Fédération in Paris, to commemorate the storming of the Bastille prison by Paris citizens a year earlier.

Quite apart from its lasting impact on global history as one of the first liberal and radical Revolutions, the French Revolution has left us
Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Women, whose famous first clause is:

Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions can be based only on common utility.