The reason I move this motion is to again draw attention to the plight of Palestinian people, not only in Palestine—I should correctly say occupied Palestine—but also across the world.
I rise to briefly speak in support of this bill. I just remind members what this bill is about. I think it is very important to remind ourselves what this is about. What is the bill for? It is called the New Women's and Children's Hospital Bill 2022.
I would like to speak in support of this report and recommendation from the Public Works Committee, in terms of upgrading facilities for the SES in the southern suburbs. My view would be that any upgrading of facilities for our emergency services, particularly for those that are volunteer based, is worthy of our support and also worthy of our support in our community.
Today, I would like to touch on a couple of issues involving young people in my community. At the outset, I would like to indicate my huge pride in the young people in my electorate. Often, young people get a bad run in both the media and in community discussions. Certainly, the young people in my electorate are people we can be proud of and there are a couple of examples I would like to provide.
I rise in support of this bill. Back in November 2021, the then Liberal state government passed its Motor Vehicles (Electric Vehicle Levy) Amendment Bill. That act introduced a levy on electric vehicles and a requirement for the Legislative Council to appoint a select committee into electric vehicles. The levy was based on a distance-based charge for electric vehicles as an addition for the registration of an electric vehicle. The levy also was to commence on or earlier than 1 July 2027, or when electric vehicle sales reached 30 per cent of the total new motor vehicle sales in South Australia.
This week is Anti-Poverty Week. The week is about highlighting the plight and experience of people living in poverty in our community. It is very important during this week to tackle the problem of poverty and its impact on both adults and children. Part of the week is to make sure that we understand what we can do, as a government, community or society to tackle poverty in this country.
As a former road safety minister, this is an issue that is obviously dear to my heart. When you see the data about road crashes and the deaths on our roads, as well as the pain caused to the families and friends of those people who die on our roads, and when you see some of the causes of those deaths—which were avoidable—it really does make you think about what we need to do to get the message across.
I would like to speak on this bill and in support of the bill and reaffirm this government's strong commitment to public transport, and particularly rail transport. Members may recall that we electrified the southern line when we were last in government. We initiated the electrification of the northern line to Gawler when we were in government. I was going to say that it was completed by the Liberal government but it actually was not. It was completed during the period of a Labor government again, because the Liberal government took so long to get their act together. I think it was delayed about 18 months and was over budget by hundreds of millions of dollars—but they did a pretty good job.
In June 2019, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) submitted a new framework to the then Council of Australian Governments containing improved protections for consumers in embedded electricity networks across most of Australia. Despite wide national support for the proposed framework and a package of legislative reforms, COAG and its successor, the Energy National Cabinet Reform Committee, has not progressed the framework.
I would like to make a contribution to this debate, and I think what I would like to explore a bit further is some valuable insights that were provided on this topic by the member for Lee and the minister. The member for Lee was getting back to some really fundamental principles, which I think this debate about shop trading hours tends to cover.