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Author: Jack Cook

Arbitration for Workplace Injury Claims Long Overdue

MR MORRIS (Mornington) (17:14): I am delighted to join this debate on the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Arbitration) Bill 2021, which, despite the complexity of the short title, is in fact a relatively straightforward bill. The bill is essentially amending one act, and it is essentially for a single purpose, and that is the introduction of an arbitration process for workplace injury compensation claims. There are some other minor changes as well, but that

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17 March 2021

Alan Moore

MR MORRIS (Mornington) (13:30): I rise this afternoon to note the passing, at the age of 100, of Alan Moore. Alan, or Kangaroo as he was known to many, was a long-term resident of Mount Eliza and more recently of Mornington. Far more importantly, he was the last surviving officer of the 39th battalion, the Victorian militia unit, average age 18, charged with defending New Guinea in 1942. The 39th, youth and inexperience notwithstanding, stalled the

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16 March 2021

Fisherman’s Jetty – When will it be fixed?

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (11:46): (5684) My question is to the Minister for Fishing and Boating. As the minister is aware, the Mornington harbour area is managed by Parks Victoria with the support of a funding program from the minister’s department. Fisherman’s Jetty is an extremely popular and well-used location within the harbour precinct. Last year a condition assessment was undertaken on the structural integrity of the jetty, and as a consequence of that report the

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3 March 2021

Andrews has no idea of the pressures on small business

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (09:45): There have been repeated claims about the support that the government has provided to assist small businesses to weather the COVID storm. Yet despite these claims we know many Victorian businesses are in trouble, and this morning we learned that the number of business collapses had doubled in February in Victoria. Why? Because the government has totally failed to deliver on their promises. Angela, the proprietor of a Mornington retail outlet,

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3 March 2021

Planning Changes – Some Good, Some Bad

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (16:58): If there was one member I thought I would not be following on this bill, it was the member for Burwood, but there you go, these things happen. This bill proposes significant changes to the Planning and Environment Act 1987. It is only one bill, but the changes range across a number of areas, and of course the Planning and Environment Act is a complex act to start with. It is 34 years

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2 March 2021

Mornington North Bus Improvements Long Overdue

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (17:23): (5634) I raise a matter for the Minister for Public Transport, and the action I seek is that he investigate and allocate funding in the 2021–22 state budget to allow the extension of the existing bus services from Mornington—probably the 781 route, but I will leave that to the experts—so that a bus service is provided to serve the Mornington North community. I have spoken often about the standard of bus services

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19 February 2021

Fracking ban supported, but the mechanism remains questionable

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (15:04): I am pleased to have this rather unexpected opportunity to actually speak on this bill after narrowly missing out on Wednesday afternoon. I am delighted to have the opportunity, and as the member for Warrandyte indicated during that earlier debate, the opposition has indicated that it is supporting the bill. We are supporting the bill because of the policy, our opposition to fracking, our opposition to the exploitation of unconventional gas.

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19 February 2021

State of Emergency – No Extension Required

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (10:55): I rise to oppose the effectively open-ended extension of the state of emergency that is proposed by this bill. A dictionary definition of an emergency is, ‘serious, unexpected and often dangerous; a situation requiring immediate action’. A state of emergency is an extreme measure. It is intended for extreme circumstances. That is why the maximum period is, under normal circumstances, six months. It is a state of emergency, a dangerous situation

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19 February 2021

The Mental Health Challenge

MR MORRIS (Mornington) (12:31): I must admit just listening to the member for Thomastown’s assessment of the opposition’s response, it sounded more like it was an assessment that was predetermined rather than of what I actually heard from the member for Ferntree Gully. In fact, as the member for Ferntree Gully made it clear, the Opposition is not opposing this bill at all. The bill before the house is about facilitating provisional payments for mental

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3 February 2021

Why Has the Andrews Govt Abandoned Mount Martha North Beach?

MR MORRIS (Mornington) (11:43): (5473) My question is to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. I have frequently raised the issue of sand loss and erosion at Mount Martha North beach, most recently via an adjournment matter on 12 November last year. In her response the minister claimed that despite strong community support the construction of a groyne to protect the beach would not be effective in keeping sand on it. The Department of

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3 February 2021