Alison Xamon’s December Update

Action on redress for institutional child sexual abuse, protections for seniors and regulating political donations; and support for climate action, refugee rights and Pride

2019-01-05

By Hon. Alison Xamon, MLC, Member for North Metropolitan Region

The second half of the year has been extremely busy, not least because we have finally moved to our permanent office! It is in West Leederville, quite close to Parliament, in the centre of the North Metro electorate, very close to the City West train station, and I am delighted to finally have a space with disability access. My staff and I are very pleased.

Parliament returns in February. The final week of sitting in December was huge, with extended sitting hours and much legislation. Most of the 2018 legislation landed within my portfolio areas, therefore an incredible amount of work has been undertaken. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of my team of staff and volunteers – and I’d like to thank them very much for all they have done during the year.

I was particularly pleased to support the passage through Parliament of the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2018 which joins WA to the National Redress Scheme. The scheme provides survivors of institutional child sexual abuse with access to counselling, monetary redress and an apology from the institution, if this is wanted. There were a number of significant issues with the proposed legislation and I am pleased that improvements were made via amendments. I have urged all relevant institutions to demonstrate their commitment to taking responsibility for the past by signing up to the scheme.

In late November I received unanimous support from the Legislative Council for my motion calling on the Government to reform the Retirement Villages Act. Currently, too many seniors are the subject of unfair practices including complicated contracts; mismanagement; discrepancies between the rights of village owners and residents; excessive fees and inadequate and lengthy complaints resolution processes. There were 484 enquiries relating to retirement villages made to Consumer Protection in 2017-18, resulting in 84 complaints investigated yet none of these resulted in any disciplinary action. It is clear there is little or no recourse, indicating that the Retirement Villages Act 1992 is effectively failing. The Act was reviewed in 2002 and again in 2010 but the implementation of recommendations has been slow. It is crucial the Government acts now to reform the Act to ensure protections for WA seniors now and into the future.

I supported a motion calling for political donations and lobbying reform, including the capping of donations; lower reporting thresholds and real-time reporting, and a ban on foreign donations. I reminded Parliament that the Greens have spoken out about these concerns since our party was first established in 1990, and that we have strong policies at both State and Federal level that call for transparency and reforms of donations and electoral expenditure. We recognise the right to express support for a political party through donations is a legitimate part of the political process, but we have genuine concerns about large for-profit companies and corporations that can buy disproportionate influence. My Electoral Amendment (Access To Ministers) Bill 2017, which prevents political parties from selling access to Ministers to raise political funds, is also still before the Parliament.

One of the highlights of this period was taking part in the School Strike 4 Climate Action on 30 November. Hundreds of WA students descended on Parliament HouseAlison Student climate rally to demand action on climate change.  Part of a nationwide schoolkids strike, the students’ energy, enthusiasm and commitment was absolutely fantastic to see. While there was certainly a lot of anger and frustration at the Federal Government’s lack of action on climate change, many of their signs and messages showed great concern with the WA Government’s decision to allow fracking in WA. It is a concern I share.

The decision to allow fracking in an area of WA almost the size of Tasmania is an extremely poor one. It is another nod to keeping fossil fuels at the heart of our energy production. The South West of WA, in particular will continue to have hotter, drier summers and it will get hotter in the north and central parts of the state. Extreme climate events will happen more often. Lifting the ban on fracking shows yet again that Governments are not yet ready to get serious about climate change – and that was what the young people wanted to make clear. They are passionate and deeply informed. We need to listen to them. Their futures are in our hands. 

Another highlight was establishing and launching the Parliamentary Friends of Refugees (PFR) Group, along with Ms Janine Freeman, Member for Mirrabooka. The group will provide a forum for raising awareness and providing support to refugees as enshrined in Article 14 (1) of the Declaration of Human Rights. PFR will encourage initiatives to improve the lives of refugees while promoting and protecting the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in WA.

I was delighted to attend a range of eventsPride Fair Day to celebrate Pride month in November, including Pride Fair Day; the Parade; a Pride event at Kings Park and to co-host Pride at Parliament for the second year. While much has been achieved in terms of LGBTIQ+ rights, not least with the passage of marriage equality laws just over a year ago, there is still much to do in a wide variety of areas. I continue to work alongside trans members of the LGBTIQ+ community, for example, on the best ways to address the unnecessary hurdles that trans people face in having their identity officially recognised. A good start is to abolish the Gender Reassignment Board. Private religious schools in WA can still legally discriminate against LGBTIQ+ students, staff and parents. There is no room for complacency in achieving true equality for all members of the WA community.

I look forward to returning after the festive break, renewed, refreshed and ready to gear up for the Federal election. My office will be open throughout January and I will also be working during that time.

Header photo: A highlight of this period was establishing and launching the Parliamentary Friends of Refugees Group, along with Ms Janine Freeman, Member for Mirrabooka. Alison Xamon

Text photos: Hundreds of students descended on Parliament on 30 November to demand action on climate change and oppose fracking in WA. Picture: Alison Xamon

                     I was delighted to attend a range of events to celebrate Pride month in November, including Pride Fair Day. Elliot Sawyers