questions and answers - parliament of nsw · thursday 23 june 2005 (the questions and answers paper...

3105

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

QUESTIONS

AND

ANSWERS

No. 112

THURSDAY 23 JUNE 2005

(The Questions and Answers Paper published for the first sitting day in each week will contain, by number and title, all unanswered questions, together with questions to which answers have been received on the previous sitting and any new questions. On subsequent days, new questions are printed, as are questions to which answers were received the previous day. Consequently the full text of any question will be printed only twice: when notice is given; and, when answered.)

Notice given on date shown

3106 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 112—Thursday 23 June 2005

Publication of Questions Answer to be lodged by

Q&A No. 106 (Including Question Nos 2216 to 2220) 30 June 2005

Q&A No. 107 (Including Question Nos 2221 to 2224) 12 July 2005






3107 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 112— Thursday 23 June 2005

23 JUNE 2005

(Paper No. 112)

2276 ENVIRONMENT—EWINGAR FOREST—Mr Cohen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) (a) Will Ewingar Forest be included as part of the Washpool National Park, given that this forest is an area of over 500 hectares abutting the National Park and contains significant areas of threatened species habitat?

(b) If not, why not?

(2) (a) Will the considerable dieback occurring in the forests of northern New South Wales, especially at Ewingar and Toonumbar near Kyogle, be investigated?


(3) What measures is Forests New South Wales taking to address the problem of dieback in these forests?

2277 INFRASTRUCTURE, PLANNING AND NATURAL RESOURCES—ILLEGAL CLEARING—Mr Cohen to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

(1) How many incidents of alleged illegal clearing have been reported to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources in the last 24 months?

(2) What is the total area affected by alleged illegal clearing?

(3) (a) How many incidents of alleged illegal clearing were located in the Bogan and Walgett Shires?

(b) What total area was involved?

(4) How many incidents of alleged illegal clearing involve areas greater than 1000 hectares?

(5) How many incidents of alleged illegal clearing have been resolved and in what manner?

(6) Why has the Department’s draft compliance policy covering the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 not been finalised, despite being in draft form for several years?

(7) When developing a section 47 remediation notice, what objective tests does the Department use to compare the damage done by the clearing with proposed remediation action?

(8) (a) In the remediation notice which is the subject of Holmes v Director General of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, did the Department use a specific methodology to compare the environmental benefit of fencing and excluding stock with the clearing to be remedied?

(b) If so, what was that methodology?

(9) Is it the Government’s policy that a section 47 remediation notice should aim to achieve no net harm to the environment?

(10) (a) Has a section 47 remediation notice, aiming to go beyond remedying harm by imposing additional environmental protection action to serve as a penalty, ever been issued?



(11) How many court proceedings concerning breaches of the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 are currently underway?

(12) (a) Has the Director-General of the Department met with a landholder and discussed potential remedies for alleged breaches of the Native Vegetation Conservation Act 1997 on that landholder’s property?

(b) If so:

(i) On what dates did these discussions occur? (ii) Which landholders were involved? (iii) Who else was present during these discussions? (iv) Were notes of those meetings kept?

(13) What is the policy that guides whether or not the Director General becomes involved in direct discussions with landholders who are considered to have illegally cleared land?

2278 ATTORNEY GENERAL—RUSSELL GRAHAME GITTOES—Revd Dr Moyes to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Was the Gittoes family, which Russell Grahame Gittoes (also known as Russell Caldar) is part of, in occupation of 36 Arthur Street Dee Why, from July 1954 onwards?

(2) Did Russell Grahame Gittoes reside at these premises from July 1954 onwards, other than at times when his duties with the Australian Navy Cadet Reserves and the Australian Regular Army prevented him from doing so?

(3) (a) Has Russell Grahame Gittoes been in sole control of the property since 1996, after which his mother, Rachel Isobel Gittoes, resided in Collaroy Nursing Home due to ill health?

(b) Has Russell Grahame Gittoes been solely responsible for the maintenance of the property, including payment of bills in relations to the property, since 1996?

(4) Has Russell Grahame Gittoes maintained 36 Arthur Street Dee Why since he took sole responsibility of the property, after Rachel Isobel Gittoes passed away on 27 April 2001?

(5) (a) Did Rachel Isobel Gittoes express her intention in a will dated 21 July 1967 for her sons to keep the property at 36 Arthur Street Dee Why upon her death?

(b) Did Rosina Mariae Ryan sign a statutory declaration on 5 May 2005 confirming that Rachel Isobel Gittoes wanted to give the property entirely to her son Russell Grahame Gittoes?

(c) If so, does this declaration reflect the testator’s will in her later days, rectifying the last will made by Rachel Isobel Gittoes?

(6) Did the Office of the Sheriff give Russell Gittoes a notice to vacate on 15 March 2005 leaving him with no home to reside in?

(7) Why is the Public Trustee selling the property at 36 Arthur Street Dee Why, given the evidence provided in Rosina Mariae Ryan’s statutory declaration that Rachel Isobel Gittoes intended to give Russell Grahame Gittoes this property?

(8) Is 28 June 2005 the proposed date of sale of the property at 36 Arthur Street Dee Why?


2279 ENVIRONMENT—FOX STUDIOS DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION—Dr Chesterfield-Evans to ask the

Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Is there is a development application for a craft shop at Fox studios?

(2) Is the term ‘craft shop’ used in film industry parlance to describe a factory where sets are built?

(3) Was the previous craft shop naturally ventilated, giving rise to a large number of complaints from local residents?

(4) Are many sets built using MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), which is a synthetic wood substitute that produces toxic dust?

(5) Are epoxy resins, painting, welding and a number of other processes that lead to toxic pollutants frequently used in the manufacture of sets in the film industry?

(6) Is it more difficult capture the fumes in building one-off products such as film sets, than it is in mass produced products where a production line can be designed for known quantities of known pollutants in known locations?

(7) Is the craft shop/factory leased to other film producers so that the products used are not necessarily known to the developers, who cannot and will not be able to guarantee what processes are undertaken in this factory?

(8) (a) Will the development application go ahead, give that the proposed development is a factory that should be in an industrial area?

(b) If so, why?

2280 POLICE—INFORMANT ‘BOB’ IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Did Phuong Ngo become a person of interest to police investigating the murder of John Newman on 5 September 1994, when the police received information from a person named ‘Bob’ in November 1994?

(2) (a) Has ‘Bob’ ever been identified?

(b) (i) Was ‘Bob’ called as a witness during the trials of Phuong Ngo? (ii) If not, why not?

(3) (a) Did ‘Bob’ receive all or part of the reward money of $250,000 for information leading to the conviction of a person or persons for the murder of John Newman?

(b) If ‘Bob’ received only part of the reward money:

(i) What part did he receive, and (ii) Who received the balance of the money?

(c) If ‘Bob’ received no part of the reward money for information leading to the conviction of a person or persons for the murder of John Newman:

(i) Who received the reward money, (ii) On what basis did they receive the money?


2281 POLICE—INFORMANT ‘TDN’ IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the

Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Did the New South Wales Crime Commission witness TDN, who gave evidence in the three trials of Phuong Ngo, have a meeting with another Crime Commission witness, Charlie Chiha, at the Ramada Hotel at Parramatta on 28 May 1996?

(2) (a) Was Charlie Chiha fitted with a listening device by the Crime Commission prior to the Ramada Hotel meeting?

(b) Was anything incriminating or damaging to Phuong Ngo recorded on the listening device?

(3) (a) Did Commissioner Phillip Bradley of the Crime Commission and Counsel Assisting the Commission, John Giorgiutti, interview TDN on the morning of 17 July 1996?

(b) (i) Did they adequately warn TDN that he was not obliged to answer any questions that might incriminate him?

(ii) If not, why not?

(c) (i) Did TDN make repeated requests for a solicitor to be present during the interview? (ii) Were these requests refused? (iii) If so, why?

(d) (i) Did Commissioner Bradley tell TDN that the Commission knew who murdered John Newman during the interview?

(ii) If so, did Commissioner Bradley imply it was Phuong Ngo?

(e) Did the Commission tell TDN that:

(i) It was aware of his meeting with Charlie Chiha at the Ramada Hotel, and (ii) That he had lied to the Commission about what was discussed at the meeting?

(f) Did Commissioner Bradley and Mr Giorgiutti play a videotape of the meeting at the Ramada Hotel to TDN to demonstrate to him how he had lied to the Commission?

(g) (i) Did Commissioner Bradley tell TDN: “And we’ve tapped telephones. We have telephone conversations and we’ve put listening devices in rooms, other rooms, and we’ve taken lots of photographs”?

(ii) If so, why?

(4) (a) Did a second interview take place at the Crime Commission on the afternoon of 17 July 1996 between TDN and Detective Sergeant Mark Jenkins and Detective Senior Constable French?

(b) (i) During this second interview, did TDN tell the police officers that:

Phuong Ngo gave him a photograph of John Newman in 1994 at the Mekong Club, and

asked TDN if he would kill John Newman?

(ii) Did TDN tell the police officers that he showed the photograph of John Newman to Charlie Chiha at TDN’s brother’s fish shop at Cabramatta?

(iii) Is the fish shop referred to by TDN the BKK fish shop at Cabramatta which was closed 18 months before the death of John Newman?

(5) Did Charlie Chiha give specific evidence, at the first trial of Phuong Ngo, about the photograph of John Newman that TDN had given him at the BKK fish shop?


(6) Did Charlie Chiha say that TDN told him he, TDN, wanted John Newman bashed for between $300 and

$500 because of a problem with the fish shop?

(7) Did TDN’s brother open a second fish shop at Cabramatta more than 12 months after the death of John Newman?

(8) Did TDN, when presented with inconsistencies in his evidence about the two fish shops, change his story to say he presented the John Newman photograph to Charlie Chiha at Charlie’s detergent factory at Smithfield?

(9) Why was Charlie Chiha not available at the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo to answer questions about the inconsistencies in the evidence of TDN?

(10) Did the Crime Commission undertake surveillance of Phuong Ngo at the Mekong Club with the assistance of RSM Security?

(11) (a) Did Charlie Chiha have a connection to RSM Security?

(b) If so, what are the details of this connection?

(12) (a) Is the prosecution obliged to provide all the information at its disposal in relation to a person charged with murder?

(b) Has the Crime Commission failed to provide exculpatory material obtained by RSM Security during surveillance of Phuong Ngo?

(c) If so, why?

(13) (a) During the Ramada Hotel discussion, did Charlie Chiha ask TDN if he knew the person who gave him the photograph of John Newman?

(b) Did TDN answer the question?

(c) During the Ramada Hotel discussion, did TDN tell Charlie Chiha that Phuong Ngo was with him at the Mekong Club on the night of the murder of John Newman, “so it couldn’t be him”?

(14) (a) Did TDN receive an indemnity from prosecution between the first and second interviews at the Crime Commission on 17 July 1996?

(b) If not, when did TDN receive the indemnity?

(c) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for granting an indemnity from prosecution to TDN?

(15) (a) Did a third interview take place at the Crime Commission on 7 August 1996 between TDN and Detective Sergeant Jenkins?

(b) If so, did this interview take place after TDN had received an indemnity from prosecution?

(c) Did the interview include reference to an alleged conversation between TDN and TVT that took place one month after the alleged conversation at the fish shop between TDN and Charlie Chiha, regarding the photograph of John Newman?

(d) Did the alleged conversation between TDN and TVT include reference to an allegation by TVT that “Phuong asked me to help him kill John Newman”?

(16) Did TDN allege in the third interview that:

(a) TVT approached him about two weeks later and said, “I found somebody who wants to sell a gun”?


(b) Quang Dao drove TDN and TVT to a unit at Kingsford where TVT purchased a sawn-off .22 rifle?

(c) About a week before the murder of John Newman, Phuong Ngo asked if he could borrow TDN’s car saying, “I want to use your car to kill John Newman”?

(d) On the night of the murder, Phuong Ngo came up to him and said, “I did it”, meaning he had killed John Newman?

(17) (a) When Phuong Ngo was arrested for the murder of John Newman on 13 March 1998, was the only evidence against him the testimony of TDN?

(b) Does the evidence of Charlie Chiha in the first trial of Phuong Ngo discredit TDN as a witness?

(c) Was this evidence highly damaging to the Crown case against Phuong Ngo?

(18) (a) Given that the jury in the third trial acquitted the alleged driver of the getaway car and the alleged shooter, is the testimony of TDN, insofar as it incriminates Phuong Ngo, believable in relation to all aspects of the murder of John Newman?

(b) If so, why?

2282 POLICE—INFORMANT ‘TVT’ IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) (a) Was TVT prosecuted as the alleged shooter in the first trial of Phuong Ngo?

(b) Did he turn Crown witness on the Friday before the second trial was due to commence?

(2) (a) Had TVT spent 18 months in jail before he turned Crown witness?

(b) Was he facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail if convicted of the murder of John Newman?

(3) (a) Did TVT have a wife and two children?

(b) Was he terrified at the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail?

(c) Did TVT have a previous criminal record?

(d) Was TVT allegedly released from jail on the day he received an indemnity from prosecution?

(4) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for granting an indemnity from prosecution to TVT?

(5) Did TVT allege he was a passenger in the getaway car in the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo?

(6) (a) What information did the police receive between the first and second trials to satisfy them that:

(i) TVT was a passenger in the getaway car, and (ii) TVT was not the alleged shooter?

(7) Once he became a Crown witness, did TVT have the benefit of the Crown brief, including Telstra records, in order to place himself at the murder scene according to the Crown case?

(8) Given that the jury in the third trial acquitted the alleged driver of the getaway car and the alleged shooter, is the evidence of TVT, insofar as it incriminates Phuong Ngo, unbelievable in relation to all aspects of the murder of John Newman?


2283 POLICE—MURDER WEAPON IN JOHN NEWMAN’S MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the

Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Can the .32 Beretta pistol, alleged by the Crown to be the weapon used in John Newman’s murder, be tied to Phuong Ngo except by the testimony of TDN and TVT?

(2) (a) Did TDN and TVT provide information to the police about the murder weapon, before police divers found it at the bottom of the Georges River in June 1998 three months after the arrest of Phuong Ngo?


(3) Is Paul Roberts, Counsel assisting the Coroner alleged to have told police at the inquest into the death of John Newman to look for a gun in the Hammondville area, based on the calls pattern from Telstra records?

(4) Did a police diver jump into the Georges River at Voyager Point in the Hammondville area and find the alleged murder weapon in less than ten minutes?

(5) (a) Was there advice from the New South Wales police ballistics laboratory that the gun was too badly corroded to link any bullets from the murder scene with the gun?

(b) Did police ballistics laboratories in Victoria and Tasmania provide similar advice?

(c) Is the evidence of Herr Pfoser from Germany that the gun recovered from the Georges River is “highly probable” to be the murder weapon a “highly dubious” proposition, according to Australian ballistics experts?

(6) (a) Did TDN admit under cross-examination that he thought he read in the newspaper that John Newman was shot with a .22 calibre weapon?

(b) Was the information about the alleged purchase of a .22 sawn-off rifle given by TDN before police divers found the .32 calibre pistol in the Georges River?

(7) (a) Did TDN claim in the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo, that he knew the gun “inside out”?

(b) When police showed him an array of guns did TDN not choose the .32 Beretta as the murder weapon?

(8) Did Tong Ngoc and Fat Quy, two other people alleged by the Crown to be involved with the purchase of the murder weapon, recognise the .32 Beretta as the gun sold to TDN?

(9) (a) Did Tong Ngoc and Fat Quy receive indemnities from prosecution for their evidence in the trials of Phuong Ngo?

(b) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for the indemnities?

(c) When were the indemnities granted?

(10) Was Tong Ngoc in jail for an unrelated crime when he was brought to the Crime Commission to provide information about the alleged purchase by TDN of the murder weapon?

(11) (a) Did Tong Ngoc and TDN have an opportunity at the Crime Commission to discuss the information they would provide to police about the alleged purchase by TDN of the murder weapon?

(b) If so, why?

(12) (a) Did TDN and TVT both give evidence that they purchased a number of weapons with money from the petty cash fund at the Mekong Club?


(b) Did the Club’s petty cash records corroborate this evidence?

(c) If not, why not?

(13) (a) Did a jury acquit Phuong Ngo of a charge of demanding money with menaces in a trial before Judge Norrich in the District Court, in September 2003?

(b) Was the currency of this trial highly prejudicial to Phuong Ngo when he was sentenced for the murder of John Newman?

(c) (i) Did Judge Norrich comment about TDN in the District Court trial in the following terms:

“...[I]t’s also established beyond any reasonable doubt ... he [TDN] told untruths and he withheld information ... I mean, witnesses come to courts and come along under the undertakings given to them by the Attorney General of the State of New South Wales to tell the truth and then they don’t tell the whole truth and everybody just shrugs their shoulders and says, ‘Oh well, so what?’ That’s the reality of the situation as the evidence stands at the present time.”

(ii) Have any steps been taken as a result of these comments?

(iii) Does the evidence of TDN in the District Court trial cast doubt on his credibility as a witness in the trial of Phuong Ngo for the murder of John Newman?

(iv) If not, why not?

2284 POLICE—OPERATION FLORIDA INVESTIGATIONS ‘GUNS SEGMENT’—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Did witness M5, referred to in the Police Integrity Commission’s Operation Florida report, give evidence that every officer attached to the Armed Holdup Unit would have known about the existence of an illegitimate firearms locker and its contents?

(2) Did witness F7 referred to in the Operation Florida report give evidence that “it was common practice for other regions and more particularly between Major Crime Squad North (MCSN) and the south and northwest regions to cooperate with the sharing of prospective exhibits”?

(3) Did the officers in charge of the John Newman murder investigation, namely Wayne Walpole, Mark Jenkins, Ian McNab and Nick Kaldas come from any of MCSN, south or northwest regions?

(4) (a) Have the officers in charge of the John Newman murder investigation ever been investigated in relation to:

(i) the use of prospective exhibits, (ii) loading of offenders, or (iii) verballing?

(5) (a) Is the practice of keeping a future exhibits locker to load offenders referred to in the Operation Florida report?

(b) (i) Does this practice also involve ballistics evidence, such as matching weapons with spent cartridges left at crime scenes where a gun had been used?

(ii) Was the practice invoked by police investigating the murder of John Newman?


2285 POLICE—ALLEGED PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO KILL JOHN NEWMAN—Mr Breen to ask the Minister

for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Did TDN and TVT both give evidence of two alleged previous attempts to murder John Newman carried out at Phuong Ngo’s direction?

(2) (a) Are both of these alleged previous attempts to kill John Newman supported by corroborative evidence?


(3) Was a third alleged previous attempt to kill John Newman at Fairfield Council explained in great detail by TDN, but denied by TVT?

(4) Did TDN give evidence in all three trials that while he knew about the murder weapons and previous attempts to kill John Newman, he knew nothing about the successful attempt on 5 September 1994?

(5) Did the trial judge in the third trial, Justice Dunford, give adequate instructions to the jury about:

(a) The need to focus on the events of 5 September 1994, and

(b) For the jurors not to be influenced by evidence about the purchase of firearms or evidence about previous attempts to kill John Newman?

(6) (a) Was the Crown case in the third trial that Phuong Ngo sent Quang Dao and David Dinh to kill John Newman?

(b) Was this a joint criminal enterprise that formed the basis of the Crown’s application for a joint trial, which Justice Dunford granted?

(c) Was the jury in the third trial presented with the totality of the evidence against Phuong Ngo, Quang Dao and David Dinh in order to establish the joint criminal enterprise?

(7) (a) Did all allegations of previous attempts to kill John Newman involve a person or persons outside the joint criminal enterprise to kill John Newman on 5 September 1994?

(b) If so, should a direction have been given to the jury by Justice Dunford that it could not convict Quang Dao or Phuong Ngo without first being satisfied that David Dinh was the shooter?

(8) (a) Given that no evidence linked Phuong Ngo with any other shooter apart from David Dinh and that David Dinh was acquitted of the murder of John Newman, should Phuong Ngo have been acquitted?


2286 TREASURER—ONE VALUATION TAX SYSTEM—Revd Mr Nile to ask the Special Minister of State, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services, Assistant Treasurer, and Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs—

(1) (a) Is the Government taking action to introduce a one valuation system for all State and Local Government charges and taxes?

(b) If so, what action is being taken?

(2) Will the Government advise land owners annually of land values?


2287 FAIR TRADING—SYDNEY GAY AND LESBIAN MARDI GRAS COMMITTEE—Revd Mr Nile to ask the

Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship—

(1) Has the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Committee been claiming tax deductions by processing their donations through the AIDS Trust of Australia?

(2) (a) Has this policy had an impact on New South Wales state taxes?

(b) If so, what?

(3) What action has the Department of Fair Trading taken in regard to this policy?

2288 HEALTH—APPLICATION FOR HOME CARE—Revd Mr Nile to ask the Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for Health—

(1) Does Mr Jim Wicks, a quadriplegic in Ryde Rehabilitation Hospital wish to have home care with his wife Rosemary?

(2) Was his application rejected by the Department of Health because he is over 50?

(3) Will action be taken to enable Mr Wicks to be cared for in his home rather than in an institution, as his home would be more economical?

2289 EDUCATION—ISLAMIC SEMINAR HELD AT CONDELL PARK HIGH SCHOOL—Revd Mr Nile to ask the Minister for Education and Training—

(1) Did an Islamic speaker conduct a seminar at the Condell Park High School on Good Friday 25th March 2005?

(2) Was the keynote speaker Yaya Ibrahim, coordinator of the Islamic School in Western Australia?

(3) Was the title “Jesus, the son of…?”

(4) Did the speaker quote the Koran claiming Jesus Christ is not the Son of God and did not die on the Cross?

(5) Is the Government taking action to prevent Islamic Seminars being held in a public school on Good Friday, the holiest day in the Christian calendar?

2290 INFRASTRUCTURE—GAS POWER PLANT AT URANQUINTY—Mr Cohen to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

With regards to the proposed gas power plant at Uranquinty:

(1) (a) Do the conditions of consent place any restrictions on the capacity factor of the plant?

(b) Do the conditions of consent constrain the total amount of time for which the plant can run?

(2) Will the Government impose any restrictions on the efficiency or greenhouse factor of the plant?

(3) (a) Will the plant installed be a second-hand plant, as in the case of the last plant installed in Victoria, which came from India?

(b) If so, will the plant be lower in efficiency and higher in greenhouse gas emissions than new state of the art plants?


(4) (a) If the plant is intended to be open cycle, can it be retrofitted to be closed cycle?

(b) If so, what would be the implications for capacity factor?

(5) Will the Government impose conditions of consent to insist that the plant become combined cycle by 2010?

2291 HEALTH—HOSPITALS AND CODE RED—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for Health—

(1) As a result of the Matrix system now operating in hospitals, can Emergency Departments call ‘code red’, that is, divert ambulances elsewhere because the hospital is operating to capacity?

(2) (a) Has the use of Code Red been discontinued altogether?

(b) If so, why?

(3) If ‘code red’ is not used, will more people be left sitting in the corridors of emergency departments waiting for admission?

(4) (a) Did the Medical Director of St Vincent’s Hospital send a message to pagers of medical staff on the 22 June 2005 at 12.10 pm that said “Urgent. No Beds available. ED (Emergency Department) at capacity. Please review all patients ASAP and discharge where possible”?

(b) Is this a common occurrence?

(c) Is this indicative that the hospital could not cope with demand?

(5) Is the Minister aware that the recommended operating capacity of emergency departments should be 85% but that many hospitals including St Vincent’s are operating at over 90% and up to 95% capacity?

2292 HEALTH—MENTAL HEALTH ADMISSIONS TO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for Health—

(1) Are more people with mental illnesses presenting at Emergency Departments?

(2) What is the percentage of total admissions to hospitals in New South Wales for people presenting with a mental illness for the years 1998-1999 to 2003-2004?

(3) Are approximately a quarter of St Vincent’ s Hospital acute mental health beds occupied by people on a medium to long term basis who could be cared for outside a hospital if there were adequate supported mental health community facilities?

(4) In relation to the four major reports into mental health (the 1983 Richmond Report, the 1988 Barclay report, the 1993 Burdekin Report and the 2002 Pezzutti Report), how many of the recommendations of these reports have been adequately implemented, especially those relating to providing adequate community care facilities?

(5) Do mental health beds in a hospital cost between $600-$700 a night and mental health beds in a community setting cost $20-$30 a night?

(6) Can statistics be provided as to how many homeless people with mental illnesses are discharged ‘to the street’ from hospitals in New South Wales?

(7) How many people with mental illnesses who could be placed in supported accommodation are not placed in such accommodation, due to the lack of caseworkers?


(8) Has there been a decline in psychiatric outreach services provided to people with a mental illness by St

Vincent’s Hospital in the City of Sydney in 2003-2004 as compared to 1998-1999?

(9) (a) How many people arrive at St Vincent’s Hospital Emergency Department presenting with psychosis or depression?

(b) What percentage is this of the total presentations at the Emergency Department in 2003-2004 compared with 1998-1999?

(10) What is the current percentage of the New South Wales mental health budget spent on community-based mental health services compared with all other Australian States and Territories and New Zealand?

(11) Since the Government made its response to the Mental Health Inquiry recommendations, what progress has been made on the following:

(a) (i) Has the New South Wales Mental Health Sentinel Events Review Committee reported to the Minister on the circumstances of suicides among people with a mental illness who were either under the care of NSW Health refused admission to a public hospital or psychiatric unit within a week prior to their suicide (Recommendation 3)?

(ii) Will this report be made public?

(b) Has the Government investigated the feasibility and cost of, or commenced the collection of, data on readmission to psychiatric units at three, six and 12-month intervals (Recommendation 4)?

2293 FAIR TRADING—STREET CLOSURES IN EAST SYDNEY—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship—

(1) (a) Did the RTA consult the Department of Fair Trading on the impact of proposed street closures in East Sydney on small businesses, prior to making the decision to close Liverpool and Burke Streets to traffic?

(b) If so, what form did the consultation take, and when did it occur?

(2) What has the Department of Fair Trading done to examine the impact on small businesses in East Sydney, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills from the expansion of the Bondi Junction retail area?

(3) What has the Department of Fair Trading done to examine the impact on small businesses in East Sydney, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills from the impact of the Cross City Tunnel?

(4) Given that the local Chamber of Commerce estimates that up to 400 businesses could be threatened from the closure of Liverpool, Burke and Francis Streets in East Sydney will the Department of Fair Trading being conducting any examination of this issue?

2294 INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING—STREET CLOSURES IN EAST SYDNEY—Mr Harwin to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

(1) (a) Did the Roads and Traffic Authority consult the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) on proposed street closures in East Sydney, including Liverpool and Burton Streets prior to making the decision to close these streets to traffic?

(b) If so, what form did the consultation take?

(c) When did it occur?


(2) What is the position of DIPNR regarding these street closures?

(3) What has DIPNR done to investigate the impact of street closures of Liverpool, Bourke and Francis Streets, and the opening of the Cross City Tunnel on local businesses in the Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, East Sydney area?

(4) (a) Given that the local Chamber of Commerce estimates up to 400 businesses could be threatened from the opening of the Cross City Tunnel and closure of Liverpool, Burke and Francis Streets in East Sydney, will the Department of Fair Trading conduct any examination of this issue?

(b) If so, when?

(c) What form will the examination take?

2295 INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING—PLANNING CHANGES—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

(1) (a) Does the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources (DIPNR) anticipate that there will be additional workload for the Department associated with assessment and approval of Critical Infrastructure and State Significant Projects following the passing of the Environment Planning and Assessment Amendment (Critical Infrastructure and Other Planning Reform) Bill 2005?


(c) If so, how many additional staff will be required within DIPNR to cope with this additional workload?

(d) When will these staff be appointed?

(2) How many developments does DIPNR anticipate will be classified as either State Significant or Critical Infrastructure each year?

(3) Has DIPNR or the Minister received applications to classify any sites as State Significant or Critical Infrastructure?

(4) (a) Has the Minister approved any sites as State Significant or Critical Infrastructure?

(b) If so, which sites?

2296 ATTORNEY GENERAL—INFORMANT 'BOB' IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Did Phuong Ngo become a person of interest to police investigating the murder of John Newman on 5 September 1994, when the police received information from a person named ‘Bob’ in November 1994?

(2) (a) Has ‘Bob’ ever been identified?

(b) (i) Was ‘Bob’ called as a witness during the trials of Phuong Ngo? (ii) If not, why not?

(3) (a) Did ‘Bob’ receive all or part of the reward money of $250,000 for information leading to the conviction of a person or persons for the murder of John Newman?


(b) If ‘Bob’ received only part of the reward money:

(i) What part did he receive, and (ii) Who received the balance of the money?

(c) If ‘Bob’ received no part of the reward money for information leading to the conviction of a person or persons for the murder of John Newman:

(i) Who received the reward money, (ii) On what basis did they receive the money?

2297 ATTORNEY GENERAL—INFORMANT 'TDN' IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Did the New South Wales Crime Commission witness TDN, who gave evidence in the three trials of Phuong Ngo, have a meeting with another Crime Commission witness, Charlie Chiha, at the Ramada Hotel at Parramatta on 28 May 1996?

(2) (a) Was Charlie Chiha fitted with a listening device by the Crime Commission prior to the Ramada Hotel meeting?

(b) Was anything incriminating or damaging to Phuong Ngo recorded on the listening device?

(3) (a) Did Commissioner Phillip Bradley of the Crime Commission and Counsel Assisting the Commission, John Giorgiutti, interview TDN on the morning of 17 July 1996?

(b) (i) Did they adequately warn TDN that he was not obliged to answer any questions that might incriminate him?

(iii) If not, why not?

(c) (i) Did TDN make repeated requests for a solicitor to be present during the interview? (ii) Were these requests refused? iii) If so, why?

(d) (i) Did Commissioner Bradley tell TDN that the Commission knew who murdered John Newman during the interview?

(ii) If so, did Commissioner Bradley imply it was Phuong Ngo?

(e) Did the Commission tell TDN that:

(i) It was aware of his meeting with Charlie Chiha at the Ramada Hotel, and (ii) That he had lied to the Commission about what was discussed at the meeting?

(h) Did Commissioner Bradley and Mr Giorgiutti play a video tape of the meeting at the Ramada Hotel to TDN to demonstrate to him how he had lied to the Commission?

(i) (i) Did Commissioner Bradley tell TDN: “And we’ve tapped telephones. We have telephone conversations and we’ve put listening devices in rooms, other rooms, and we’ve taken lots of photographs”?

(ii) If so, why?

(4) (a) Did a second interview take place at the Crime Commission on the afternoon of 17 July 1996 between TDN and Detective Sergeant Mark Jenkins and Detective Senior Constable French?

(b) (i) During this second interview, did TDN tell the police officers that:


Phuong Ngo gave him a photograph of John Newman in 1994 at the Mekong

Club, and asked TDN if he would kill John Newman?

(ii) Did TDN tell the police officers that he showed the photograph of John Newman to Charlie Chiha at TDN’s brother’s fish shop at Cabramatta?

(iii) Is the fish shop referred to by TDN the BKK fish shop at Cabramatta which was closed 18 months before the death of John Newman?

(5) Did Charlie Chiha give specific evidence, at the first trial of Phuong Ngo, about the photograph of John Newman that TDN had given him at the BKK fish shop?

(6) Did Charlie Chiha say that TDN told him he, TDN, wanted John Newman bashed for between $300 and $500 because of a problem with the fish shop?

(7) Did TDN’s brother open a second fish shop at Cabramatta more than 12 months after the death of John Newman?

(8) Did TDN, when presented with inconsistencies in his evidence about the two fish shops, change his story to say he presented the John Newman photograph to Charlie Chiha at Charlie’s detergent factory at Smithfield?

(9) Why was Charlie Chiha not available at the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo to answer questions about the inconsistencies in the evidence of TDN?

(10) Did the Crime Commission undertake surveillance of Phuong Ngo at the Mekong Club with the assistance of RSM Security?

(11) (a) Did Charlie Chiha have a connection to RSM Security?

(b) If so, what are the details of this connection?

(12) (a) Is the prosecution obliged to provide all the information at its disposal in relation to a person charged with murder?

(b) Has the Crime Commission failed to provide exculpatory material obtained by RSM Security during surveillance of Phuong Ngo?

(c) If so, why?

(13) (a) During the Ramada Hotel discussion, did Charlie Chiha ask TDN if he knew the person who gave him the photograph of John Newman?

(b) Did TDN answer the question?

(c) During the Ramada Hotel discussion, did TDN tell Charlie Chiha that Phuong Ngo was with him at the Mekong Club on the night of the murder of John Newman, “so it couldn’t be him”?

(14) (a) Did TDN receive an indemnity from prosecution between the first and second interviews at the Crime Commission on 17 July 1996?

(b) If not, when did TDN receive the indemnity?

(c) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for granting an indemnity from prosecution to TDN?

(15) (a) Did a third interview take place at the Crime Commission on 7 August 1996 between TDN and Detective Sergeant Jenkins?

(b) If so, did this interview take place after TDN had received an indemnity from prosecution?


(c) Did the interview include reference to an alleged conversation between TDN and TVT that took

place one month after the alleged conversation at the fish shop between TDN and Charlie Chiha, regarding the photograph of John Newman?

(d) Did the alleged conversation between TDN and TVT include reference to an allegation by TVT that “Phuong asked me to help him kill John Newman”?

(16) Did TDN allege in the third interview that:

(a) TVT approached him about two weeks later and said, “I found somebody who wants to sell a gun”?

(b) Quang Dao drove TDN and TVT to a unit at Kingsford where TVT purchased a sawn-off .22 rifle?

(c) About a week before the murder of John Newman, Phuong Ngo asked if he could borrow TDN’s car saying, “I want to use your car to kill John Newman”?

(d) On the night of the murder, Phuong Ngo came up to him and said, “I did it”, meaning he had killed John Newman?

(17) (a) When Phuong Ngo was arrested for the murder of John Newman on 13 March 1998, was the only evidence against him the testimony of TDN?

(b) Does the evidence of Charlie Chiha in the first trial of Phuong Ngo discredit TDN as a witness?

(c) Was this evidence highly damaging to the Crown case against Phuong Ngo?

(18) (a) Given that the jury in the third trial acquitted the alleged driver of the getaway car and the alleged shooter, is the testimony of TDN, insofar as it incriminates Phuong Ngo, believable in relation to all aspects of the murder of John Newman?

(b) If so, why?

2298 ATTORNEY GENERAL—INFORMANT 'TVT' IN JOHN NEWMAN MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) (a) Was TVT prosecuted as the alleged shooter in the first trial of Phuong Ngo?

(b) Did he turn Crown witness on the Friday before the second trial was due to commence?

(2) (a) Had TVT spent 18 months in jail before he turned Crown witness?

(b) Was he facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail if convicted of the murder of John Newman?

(3) (a) Did TVT have a wife and two children?

(b) Was he terrified at the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail?

(c) Did TVT have a previous criminal record?

(d) Was TVT released from jail on the day he received an indemnity from prosecution?

(4) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for granting an indemnity from prosecution to TVT?

(5) Did TVT allege he was a passenger in the getaway car in the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo?


(6) What information did the police receive between the first and second trials to satisfy them that:

(a) TVT was a passenger in the getaway car, and (b) TVT was not the alleged shooter?

(7) Once he became a Crown witness, did TVT have the benefit of the Crown brief including Telstra records in order to place himself at the murder scene according to the Crown case?

(8) Given that the jury in the third trial acquitted the alleged driver of the getaway car and the alleged shooter, is the evidence of TVT, insofar as it incriminates Phuong Ngo, unbelievable in relation to all aspects of the murder of John Newman?

2299 ATTORNEY GENERAL—MURDER WEAPON IN JOHN NEWMAN'S MURDER INVESTIGATION—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Can the .32 Beretta pistol alleged by the Crown to be the weapon used in John Newman’s murder be tied to Phuong Ngo except by the testimony of TDN and TVT?

(2) (a) Did TDN and TVT provide information to the police about the murder weapon, before police divers found it at the bottom of the Georges River in June 1998 three months after the arrest of Phuong Ngo?


(3) Did Paul Roberts, Counsel Assisting the Coroner tell police at the inquest into the death of John Newman to look for a gun in the Hammondville area, based on the calls pattern from Telstra records?

(4) Did a police diver jump into the Georges River at Voyager Point in the Hammondville area and find the alleged murder weapon in less than ten minutes?

(5) (a) Was there advice from the New South Wales police ballistics laboratory that the gun was too badly corroded to link any bullets from the murder scene with the gun?

(b) Did police ballistics laboratories in Victoria and Tasmania provide similar advice?

(c) Is the evidence of Herr Pfoser from Germany that the gun recovered from the Georges River is “highly probable” to be the murder weapon a “highly dubious” proposition, according to Australian ballistics experts?

(6) (a) Did TDN admit under cross-examination that he thought he read in the newspaper that John Newman was shot with a .22 calibre weapon?

(b) Was the information about the alleged purchase of a .22 sawn-off rifle given by TDN before police divers found the .32 calibre pistol in the Georges River?

(7) (a) Did TDN claim in the second and third trials of Phuong Ngo, that he knew the gun “inside out”?

(b) When police showed him an array of guns did TDN not choose the .32 Beretta as the murder weapon?

(8) Did Tong Ngoc and Fat Quy, two other people alleged by the Crown to be involved with the purchase of the murder weapon, recognise the .32 Beretta as the gun sold to TDN?

(9) (a) Did Tong Ngoc and Fat Quy receive indemnities from prosecution for their evidence in the trials of Phuong Ngo?

(b) What information was provided by police to the Attorney General as the basis for the indemnities?


(c) When were the indemnities granted?

(10) Was Tong Ngoc in jail for an unrelated crime when he was brought to the Crime Commission to provide information about the alleged purchase by TDN of the murder weapon?

(11) (a) Did Tong Ngoc and TDN have an opportunity at the Crime Commission to discuss the information they would provide to police about the alleged purchase by TDN of the murder weapon?

(b) If so, why?

(12) (a) Did TDN and TVT both give evidence that they purchased a number of weapons with money from the petty cash fund at the Mekong Club?

(b) Did the Club’s petty cash records corroborate this evidence?

(c) If not, why not?

(13) (a) Did a jury acquit Phuong Ngo of a charge of demanding money with menaces in a trial before Judge Norrich in the District Court, in September 2003?

(b) Was the currency of this trial highly prejudicial to Phuong Ngo when he was sentenced for the murder of John Newman?

(c) (i) Did Judge Norrich comment about TDN in the District Court trial in the following terms:

“...[I]t’s also established beyond any reasonable doubt ... he [TDN] told untruths and he withheld information ... I mean, witnesses come to courts and come along under the undertakings given to them by the Attorney General of the State of New South Wales to tell the truth and then they don’t tell the whole truth and everybody just shrugs their shoulders and says, ‘Oh well, so what?’ That’s the reality of the situation as the evidence stands at the present time.”

(ii) Have any steps been taken as a result of these comments?

(iii) Does the evidence of TDN in the District Court trial cast doubt on his credibility as a witness in the trial of Phuong Ngo for the murder of John Newman?

(iv) If not, why not?

2300 ATTORNEY GENERAL—OPERATION FLORIDA INVESTIGATIONS 'GUNS SEGMENT'—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Did witness M5, referred to in the Police Integrity Commission’s Operation Florida report, give evidence that every officer attached to the Armed Holdup Unit would have known about the existence of an illegitimate firearms locker and its contents?

(2) Did witness F7 referred to in the Operation Florida report give evidence that “it was common practice for other regions and more particularly between Major Crime Squad North (MCSN) and the south and northwest regions to cooperate with the sharing of prospective exhibits”?

(3) Did the officers in charge of the John Newman murder investigation, namely Wayne Walpole, Mark Jenkins, Ian McNab and Nick Kaldas come from any of MCSN, south or northwest regions?

(4) (a) Have the officers in charge of the John Newman murder investigation ever been investigated in relation to:

(i) the use of prospective exhibits,


(ii) loading of offenders, or (iii) verballing?

(5) (a) Is the practice of keeping a future exhibits locker to load offenders referred to in the Operation Florida report?

(b) (i) Does this practice also involve ballistics evidence, such as matching weapons with spent cartridges left at crime scenes where a gun had been used?

(ii) Was the practice invoked by police investigating the murder of John Newman?

2301 ATTORNEY GENERAL—ALLEGED PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO KILL JOHN NEWMAN—Mr Breen to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Attorney General and Minister for the Environment—

(1) Did TDN and TVT both give evidence of two alleged previous attempts to murder John Newman carried out at Phuong Ngo’s direction?

(2) (a) Are both of these alleged previous attempts to kill John Newman supported by corroborative evidence?


(3) Was a third alleged previous attempt to kill John Newman at Fairfield Council explained in great detail by TDN, but denied by TVT?

(4) Did TDN give evidence in all three trials that while he knew about the murder weapons and previous attempts to kill John Newman, he knew nothing about the successful attempt on 5 September 1994?

(5) Did the trial judge in the third trial, Justice Dunford, give adequate instructions to the jury about:

(a) the need to focus on the events of 5 September 1994, and

(b) the need for the jurors not to be influenced by evidence about the purchase of firearms or evidence about previous attempts to kill John Newman?

(6) (a) Was the Crown case in the third trial that Phuong Ngo sent Quang Dao and David Dinh to kill John Newman?

(b) Was this a joint criminal enterprise that formed the basis of the Crown’s application for a joint trial, which Justice Dunford granted?

(c) Was the jury in the third trial presented with the totality of the evidence against Phuong Ngo, Quang Dao and David Dinh in order to establish the joint criminal enterprise?

(7) (a) Did all allegations of previous attempts to kill John Newman involve a person or persons outside the joint criminal enterprise to kill John Newman on 5 September 1994?

(b) If so, should a direction have been given to the jury by Justice Dunford that it could not convict Quang Dao or Phuong Ngo without first being satisfied that David Dinh was the shooter?

(8) (a) Given that no evidence linked Phuong Ngo with any other shooter apart from David Dinh and that David Dinh was acquitted of the murder of John Newman, should Phuong Ngo have been acquitted?



2302 HOUSING—EX DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PROPERTIES AT DAWES POINT—Ms Hale to ask the

Minister for Primary Industries representing the Minister for Housing—

(1) How much did the Department of Housing receive when the land at 43 Lower Fort St, The Rocks

transferred from Leasehold to Freehold on 21st of August 1997?

(2) On what grounds was this transfer made?

(3) Who was the land transferred to?

(4) Were there any conditions or caveats on the transfer?

(5) What other properties have been transferred to freehold in this street since 1997?

2303 POLICE—ILLICIT DNA DATABASES—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Have there been media reports that police in the USA and Britain maintain illicit DNA databases, which mirror the official DNA databases, except that no information is deleted?

(2) Do police in New South Wales maintain illicit DNA database(s)?

(3) If DNA database material were not being used by the New South Wales police, according to the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000, what measures would you take to rectify this?

2304 MINERAL RESOURCES—TRANSPORTING CYANIDE—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Primary Industries representing the Minister for Mineral Resources—

(1) Will all the cyanide to be used at the Lake Cowal gold mine be sourced from Gladstone?

(2) Will all the cyanide from Gladstone be transported by road or rail or a combination of transport modes?

(3) (a) If the cyanide is transported by trucks, what roads will be used in New South Wales to transport the cyanide from the border with Queensland to the Lake Cowal gold mine?

(b) If the cyanide is transported by rail, what routes will be used in New South Wales to transport the cyanide from the border with Queensland to the Lake Cowal gold mine?

2305 POLICE—POLICE CRIMINAL RECORDS—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship representing the Minister for Police—

(1) Are records kept on how many police officers have criminal records?

(2) If so, how many currently serving NSW police officers have criminal records?

2306 JUSTICE—POLICE CRIMINAL RECORDS—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship—

(1) Are records kept on how many police officers have criminal records?

(2) If so, how many currently serving New South Wales police officers have criminal records?


2307 MINERAL RESOURCES—LAKE COWAL WATER TABLE—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Primary

Industries representing the Minister for Mineral Resources—

(1) Will water need to be pumped out of the water table at the Cowal Gold project to keep the open pit dry?

(2) If so:

(a) How much will the water table drop during the next year as part of this effort?

(b) How much will the water table drop during the next five years as part of this effort?

2308 ENERGY AND UTILITIES—LAKE COWAL WATER TABLE—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Energy and Utilities, Minister for Science and Medical Research, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer) and Minister Assisting the Premier on the Arts—

(1) Will water need to be pumped out of the water table at the Cowal Gold project to keep the open pit dry?

(2) If so:

(a) How much will the water table drop during the next year as part of this effort?

(b) How much will the water table drop during the next five years as part of this effort?

2309 REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT—LAKE COWAL GOLD PROJECT—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Illawarra and Minister for Small Business—

(1) Was an economic analysis conducted by the Department of Regional Development regarding the Lake Cowal Gold Project?

(2) If not, how was the Government able to make their determination to approve the project as a development of state significance under SEPP 34?

2310 TREASURER—LAKE COWAL GOLD PROJECT—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Special Minister of State, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services, Assistant Treasurer, and Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs—

(1) Was an economic analysis conducted by the Department of Regional Development regarding the Lake Cowal Gold Project?

(2) If not, how was the Government able to make their determination to approve the project as a development of state significance under SEPP 34?

2311 TREASURER—SHARE PORTFOLIOS—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Special Minister of State, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services, Assistant Treasurer, and Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs—

(1) What is the size, type and description of the share portfolios held by the Government on 30 June 2004?

(2) In relation to these shares, what is the:


(a) Name of shares?

(b) Date of purchase?

(c) Purchase price?

(d) What is the increase or decreases in share price since the date of purchase?

(e) What is the current share value?

(f) Value of dividends received since share purchase?

(g) What is the primary type of business that the shares are held in?

(h) What is the value of the share portfolio?

(3) If the answers to these questions are not available, why is this the case?

2312 TREASURER—CRITERIA FOR INVESTMENT—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Special Minister of State, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services, Assistant Treasurer, and Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs—

(1) How does the NSW Government’s policy for investing in the share market relate to:

(a) Ethical investment practices?

(b) International Labour Standards?

(c) Environmental considerations?

(d) Avoidance of particular products or industries?


2313 TREASURER—VOTING RIGHTS—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Special Minister of State, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability Services, Assistant Treasurer, and Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs—

(1) How many times has T-Corp voted on decisions made by corporations in which the NSW Government or its agencies is a shareowner in the 2004-2005 financial year?

(2) In relation to these decisions to vote:

(a) What was the decision that required a vote?

(b) Which shares did the decision relate to?

(c) Why did the Government or its agency choose to vote?

(d) What was the effect of the vote?

(3) How many times has T-Corp decided not to exercise its voting rights on decisions made by corporations in which the NSW Government or its agencies is a share owner in the 2004-2005 financial year?

(4) In relation to these decisions not to vote:

(a) What was the decision that required a vote?


(b) Which shares did the decision relate to?

(c) Why did the Government or its agency choose not to vote?

(d) What was the effect of the vote?


2314 NATURAL RESOURCES—WATER CATCHMENT REGULATIONS—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

(1) (a) Are the regulations for New South Wales water catchment areas consistent?


(2) (a) Is the regulation for the Sydney water catchment area stricter than the regulations covering other water catchment areas?

(b) If so, why?

(3) Will the regulations for all water catchment areas be made consistent?

2315 MINERAL RESOURCES—COAL MINING ROYALTIES—Ms Rhiannon to ask the Minister for Primary Industries representing the Minister for Mineral Resources—

(1) What was the value of royalties received by the NSW Government from the coal mining industry per annum for the last five years?

(2) What is the current total of unpaid royalties owed by the coal mining industry and the names of those mining corporations?

(3) (a) Which coal mining corporation, if any, had received corporate fines and/or cancellation of the mining title for unpaid royalties?

(b) What was the amount of unpaid royalties in each case?

(4) What is the value of concessions made to the coal mining industry in the form of deductions of mining costs per annum for the last five years?

(5) (a) Which coal mining corporations received concessions per annum during the last five years?

(b) How much did each receive?

2316 HEALTH—HEALTH PROMOTION—Dr Chesterfield-Evans to ask the Minister for Education and Training representing the Minister for Health—

(1) Given the rising and serious prevalence of obesity and diseases associated with lack of physical activity, will the opportunity created by Sydney’s hosting of the World Masters Games in 2009 be used to create a health promotion framework to encourage regular routine exercise as a social norm for all age groups?

(2) If not, why not?

2317 SPORT AND RECREATION—HEALTH PROMOTION—Dr Chesterfield-Evans to ask the Minister for Primary Industries representing the Minister for Tourism and Sport and Recreation, and Minister for Women—


(1) Given the rising and serious prevalence of obesity and diseases associated with lack of physical activity,

will the opportunity created by Sydney’s hosting of the World Masters Games in 2009 be used to create a health promotion framework to encourage regular routine exercise as a social norm for all age groups?

(2) If not, why not?

2318 LOCAL GOVERNMENT—FOOTPATHS AND JOGGING TRACKS—Dr Chesterfield-Evans to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources—

(1) (a) Given the lack of standards for the coefficient of friction for footpaths and the significance of slips and falls as a cause of public injury, will the Department of Local Government make arrangements for the definition and enforcement of such standards?


(2) (a) Given the lack of standards for the hardness of footpaths and jogging tracks and the increased incidence of osteoarthritis from running on hard surfaces, will the Department of Local Government make arrangements for the definition and enforcement of such standards?


2319 INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANNING—SEPP 30—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Rural Affairs, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Lands, Minister Assisting the Minister for Natural Resources representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning, and Minister for Natural Resources—

When is the new or updated SEPP 30 regarding intensive dairy farming due for release?

2320 FAIR TRADING—BOARDERS AND LODGERS—Ms Hale to ask the Minister for Justice, Minister for Fair Trading, Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce, and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship—

(1) Have other Labor state governments introduced legislation, such as the Residential Services Accommodation Act 2002 (Queensland) and the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Victoria), giving boarders and lodgers the coverage of legislation and legal protection?

(2) Did the introduction of these Acts in Queensland and Victoria result in significant disinvestment in boarding houses?

(3) Have tenancy groups been asking for enactment of legislation giving minimum tenancy rights to boarders and lodgers in New South Wales for over 20 years?

(4) (a) Will amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 be supported to bestow minimum tenancy rights for boarders and lodgers such as prescribing minimum notice for termination?


John Evans Clerk of the Parliaments

_________________________

Authorised by the Parliament of New South Wales

questions and answers - parliament of nsw · thursday 23 june 2005 (the questions and answers paper...

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