Last Saturday night I attended the Australian Lebanese Medical Association annual ball at Luxor reception centre in Taylors Lakes. Its membership is incredibly diverse, including general practitioners, physiotherapists, chiropractors, dentists, pharmacists, medical researchers and nurses.

I am incredibly excited to see that planning works have started on the new $1.5 billion world-class public hospital in Footscray, with the project likely to be opened in 2025. The western suburbs is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. This hospital will ensure we are keeping pace with the demands of our growing population, replacing the old Footscray Hospital, which was built in the 1950s.

I also rise to speak on the Parliamentary Committees Amendment Bill 2019, and in doing so there are a number of points I would like to cover. I listened to Mr Finn lecturing us about common decency and what is right and what is wrong, and I will come back to that later on, but he made some valid points about some of the good work the committees have done over his 20 years.

I rise to speak on the motion moved by Mr Davis. It takes me back to a similar motion Mr Davis moved in the last Parliament. It is more or less the same motion which then moved on to become the revocation motion, which was an attempt at least to put a halt to the whole project and to stop everything.

Last week I attended a presentation by Australian Paper to announce the outcome of a feasibility study which was funded by the state government and the federal government—$7.5 million to explore the opportunity to open a waste-to-energy plant in the Latrobe Valley to provide APM with its energy needs.

My question is to the Minister for Fishing and Boating, the Honourable Jaala Pulford. As many of my constituents are keen fishers and love to go and enjoy fishing on the weekends and love to eat fish as well, Minister, what has the Andrews Labor government done to support recreational anglers in Melbourne’s west?

The West Gate Tunnel project is one of Victoria’s most vital infrastructure projects, and the west is the fastest growing area in Victoria. We need a second river crossing in order to service the imminent population boom and associated traffic.

In the Andrews Labor government’s first term 29 of the most dangerous and congested level crossings were removed across Melbourne, many in my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region. In the west I am thrilled to see many of these dangerous and outdated crossings removed.

My question is to Minister Mikakos. Could the minister please update the Council on how the Andrews Labor government is ensuring residents north-west of Melbourne are getting faster access to life-saving ambulance services?

This bill will ensure consistency across the board and make sure that different standards are not being applied at different hospitals. This builds on the commitment the Andrews Labor government gave midwives—nurses as well—to make sure that that happens and that we deliver on those commitments

I rise to speak on the tragic loss of lives on Black Saturday, which was one of the worst bushfire events in our nation’s history.

I rise to congratulate the Andrews Labor government on its move to make the practise of conversion therapy against the law. Conversion therapy is any practice or treatment that seeks to change, suppress or eliminate an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Last week over 1 million students returned to school, and these students enjoy better classrooms and new and upgraded schools and positive curriculum changes thanks to the Andrews Labor government. I am excited to see that the Andrews Labor government is following through on its commitment to invest $5.7 billion into our schools, making Victoria the Education State.

Could the minister please outline how the Andrews Labor government is ensuring Victorians have access to high-quality, affordable public health care?

The action I seek from the minister is to outline how the Andrews Labor government is helping low-income households access solar home packages and how this government is ensuring they are aware of the benefits of this initiative.

What is being done over this Christmas-New Year period to make sure that everyone stays safe on our roads?

I think it is important to note that currently Victorians spend approximately $1.2 billion annually wagering and betting on thoroughbred and greyhound racing, sports and other events. Increasingly wagering and betting are being conducted with online corporate bookmakers licensed outside of Victoria that are not captured by the current Victorian wagering and betting taxation framework. That is a lot of money we are talking about. This reform will ensure that all wagering and betting by customers in Victoria, whether online or in person, will be captured by the Victorian wagering and taxation system.

People should be able to go to work without being subjected to any harassment or physical or mental abuse. So there are a number of examples this bill is trying to address to make sure that our nurses, doctors, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, State Emergency Service and other emergency workers should not be subjected to any attacks or any abuse, whether it is physical or mental, when they are attending, doing their job and saving lives.