Elise Archer MP

In reference to the impending redevelopment of Parliament Square, the Liberals welcome the news that the development will finally proceed after an appeal against the project was rejected by the Tribunal.

It is vital that positive developments such as Parliament Square go ahead so that we can show investors that Tasmania is open for business.

The Liberals’ proposed planning reforms would ensure that frivolous third party appeals such as the one that has delayed the Parliament Square project not be allowed. We need to ensure that we are encouraging sensible development, not throwing up as many hurdles as possible.

Under the Green-Labor Government, projects will continue to be delayed and private investors will continue to be frightened off by needlessly complicated and outdated planning laws.

Regards
Elise Archer
Shadow Minister for Planning

The Tasmanian Liberals oppose the Labor-Green Government’s plan to sack up to 2,300 frontline public sector employees such as police, nurses and teachers for a very good reason.

It should be highlighted at the outset that we agree that we need a more productive, responsive and efficient public sector - but we don't believe that sacking police, nurses and teachers is the best way to achieve this.

We simply cannot afford to lose vital public services across the state at a time when Tasmania’s economy is struggling.

It should not be forgotten that the reason the state is in this position is because successive Labor Governments have continually blown the budget, over-spending by around $600 million in the last two financial years alone!

The Tasmanian Liberals stand for efficient and effective government – but not for sacking police, nurses and teachers.

I am particularly concerned that the Premier, Lara Giddings, does not seem to be aware of the real implications of her cuts to the Police budget.

It’s impossible to make her budget cuts without cutting jobs.

The Police Association says 85 per cent of the police budget is for salaries. The three per cent cut cannot be found in the remaining 15 per cent as it covers all consumables such as cars, rates and equipment, so Ms Giddings will no doubt have to fix her budget black hole by cutting police numbers.

During Budget Estimates in June 2011 the Police Minister, David O'Byrne, confirmed that up to 100 police jobs could go as a result of budget cuts.

Our police have a very difficult job and often work under extreme pressure. Cutting back on staffing levels will only make the situation worse and is a direct threat to public safety.

It is a privilege to officially open this special forum on not just surviving, but thriving in the culturally diverse landscape that is Tasmania.

Over sixty years ago, in 1948 – ironically at the same time that many of our post-war migrants were arriving in this State – the World Health Organisations declared that health was a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing; that it was not merely the absence of disease that signified good health.

Sixty years later, I think the importance of good mental health and wellbeing is well understood and accepted.

Yet, there is still some stigma associated with severe mental illness in our community that needs to be addressed.

But overall we have come a long way.

And so too has our understandings about the unique and special needs of our culturally diverse communities.

The Migrant Resource Centre has worked very hard on behalf of these communities in building strong networks to support and improve mental health services for CALD communities.

Those linkages are not only vital in gaining access to mental health services, and keeping people well, but in educating service providers about the long-term psychological impacts of survivors from torture and trauma affecting so many migrants, particularly refugees fleeing from harsh and inhumane conditions.

I appreciate that there are now very real concerns about what the forecast cuts to mental health services in Tasmania will mean to the excellent networks that have been built in this State to ensure those impacts are not just understood but are supported with the appropriate services.

This is even more important with the Pontville detention centre opening in just a few weeks’ time.

We know that the mental health needs of people held in detention are significant – a study in the US found 77% of detainees at one centre had clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, 86% had depression and 50% had post traumatic stress disorder.

Just yesterday the Australian newspaper raised what I believe are legitimate concerns - that the siting of the detention centre, next door to, and within earshot of, a rifle range, could cause serious risk to the detainees’ mental health, given they have escaped from war-ravaged countries, including Afghanistan.

Whilst I understand the Phoenix Centre will be providing trauma counseling to asylum seekers, what does concern me is whether women and children housed in community detention in the greater Hobart community, will be able to get other mental health care they need given the current gaps in services, the long waiting lists that already exist and the cuts to all support on the horizon.

And conversely, how will this impact on other mental health users – our CALD communities who need this access, and other Tasmanian adults and children?

So in many respects, this forum is a very timely one.

It is very important to work together to find models of care that work for our migrant and refugee populations, and it’s pretty clear that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not the answer.

Just before I hand over to the wonderful line up of professionals you have presenting today, I want to say I am proud of Tasmania’s reputation of welcoming migrants, refugees and international students to our State.

More than 70 nationalities call Tasmania home, the University of Tasmania hosts more than 3000 international students, and each year our State welcomes humanitarian entrants from countries around the world.

However, a multicultural society is not without its struggles – and I notice Robin Banks here today.  As Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Robin knows only too well the challenges our society faces to be truly inclusive and erasing the scourge of racism in our society.

But I firmly believe intolerance and discrimination can be broken down; that the barriers faced by migrants and refugees can be overcome, with the right strategies, and the right leadership.

We have many in our community fulfilling that leadership role, from well-established bodies like the Migrant Resource Centre, local councils and their community development officers, the Phoenix Centre, those who work in the sector, and numerous volunteers.

I applaud the work they and you all do on behalf of our CALD communities, and as Shadow Minister for Community Development with responsibility for migrants and refugees, I offer my full support to those organisations and people in their roles.

Again, thank you for inviting me along today, and congratulations to the Phoenix Centre and the Migrant Resource Centre for convening this timely forum. I now declare the forum officially open.

Elise Archer MP
Shadow Minister for Community Development

More than 12 months to get planning approval for a development is not “open for business”.

It is unacceptable that the $900 million Paranville Development, that is expected to create up to 1000 jobs, has been held-up for the past 12 months simply because of the Green-Labor planning mess.

Only last week we saw the potential loss of a $100 million Buddhist Centre development in southern Tasmania because of an outdated planning system; and the Parliament Square project has faced innumerable delays.

The State simply can’t afford any more of these costly delays.

We have developers ready to invest money in Tasmania, yet our messy and expensive planning system is holding them back – eventually they will go elsewhere, if not already.

We need to be encouraging positive development such as Paranville, not continually throwing up as many hurdles as possible.

That is why the Liberals’ have already outlined how, in Government, we would implement a single state-wide planning scheme that would get rid of the current 36 planning schemes and also disallow frivolous third-party appeals, as part of our vision to make Tasmania a self-reliant state.

Tasmania needs positive developments like this to proceed so that we can hang up the ‘open for business’ sign – but under Labor and the Greens, projects will continue to be delayed and investors will continue to be frightened off by needlessly complicated and outdated planning laws.

Elise Archer MP
Shadow Minister for Planning
Thursday 2 February, 2012

In reference to Dr Julian Amos’ article (Mercury 30/11), he rightly states that Tasmania is falling behind the rest of the country in terms of planning reform.

For too long the Labor-Green government has had the ‘closed for business’ sign up, instead of working to grow the economy and attract much needed investment and development in Tasmania.

The Liberals have already announced that in Government we would implement a single statewide planning scheme for all development in Tasmania, including residential, commercial and industrial - instead of the current 36 planning schemes across 29 councils.

We believe that government should be doing everything it can to facilitate development and this includes streamlining the process for development applications, which at present is needlessly complicated.

This is about getting our planning priorities right, creating certainty for investors and the community, and re-booting the economy by making sure the planning system supports investment, rather than holding it back.

Regards

Elise Archer
Shadow Minister for Planning