Legislation Archives – Page 4 of 14 – Stephen Andrew Kickstart Queensland

WHY IS NO-ONE TALKING ABOUT QUEENSLAND’S NEW EMERGENCY POWERS BILL?!

New legislation proposing a ‘step-down’ approach to the current emergency powers framework in Queensland, was introduced to Parliament on 1 September.

The Bill has been forwarded to the Health Committee for review by the 14th of October 2022.

PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS ON THE BILL END AT 9AM TOMORROW.

The new Bill seeks to replace the current emergency framework with a new set of “temporary and targeted powers”, which would allow the Chief Health Office to only issue public health directions across a few key areas.

Those directions could only be issued if the CHO believed it was “reasonably necessary” to:

respond to a “serious risk” to the public health system or community;
give effect to a National Cabinet decision; or
give effect to advice from national advisory bodies (eg. AHPPC).

Many people, I know, feel fairly strongly that this ongoing use of emergency powers in Queensland is unnecessary and that the whole lot should be allowed to expire on 31 October 2022 as they are supposed to.

I tend to agree.

I also believe that such powers should ONLY be exercised by a Minister, who is a democratically elected representative of the people, who is ACCOUNTABLE to the people for all actions taken.

The CHO is none of these things – neither elected OR accountable.

There is also an issue with a few broadly worded phrases, like “serious risk” that have not been defined in the Bill – the meaning is left entirely up to CHO’s own discretion.

I am also concerned with the Bill’s proposal to extend emergency power provisions at corrective services facilities for another year.

Apart from that, I find the virtual silence on the introduction of the Bill, both in the mainstream media and elsewhere, very strange.

The Departmental Briefing Paper states:

“A CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION paper about the proposed changes to the Chief Health Officer’s powers .. was distributed to targeted stakeholders”

That sounds suspiciously like stakeholders consulted on the Bill are being prevented by the Government from discussing the contents of the Bill, either publicly or with their membership.

If so, that’s disgraceful.

This is a significant issue and there should be a wide-ranging and open public debate on how the State steps away from the ongoing state of emergency powers framework.

We all saw the storm of controversy that erupted when The Australian revealed the shroud of secrecy governing the Queensland Government’s consultations regarding proposed new environmental laws.

Stakeholders were forced to sign an “unprecedented confidentiality deed before they were allowed to see proposed amendments”.

The Deed prevented stakeholders from discussing any of the proposals, either publicly or with members.

I sincerely hope the same tactics weren’t used here.

CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 9AM ON FRIDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2022.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The committee invites submissions addressing any aspect of the Bill, from all interested parties. Guidelines for making a submission to a parliamentary committee are available here: Guide to making a submission. Please ensure your submission meets these requirements.

Click here to make an online submission. The closing date for written submissions is 9am on Friday 16 September 2022.

Submissions may also be emailed to:

Email: hec@parliament.qld.gov.au

Committee Secretary
Health and Environment Committee
PARLIAMENT HOUSE QLD 4000

Submissions should include:

the author’s name and signature
if the submission is made on behalf of an organisation, the level of approval (e.g. a local branch, executive committee or national organisation)
mailing address (and email if available), and
daytime telephone number.

Please ensure your submission includes the above or it may not be considered by the committee.

PUBLIC BRIEFING

The committee has scheduled a public briefing on the Bill by officers of the Department of Health on Wednesday 28 September 2022, commencing at 9am.

PUBLIC HEARING

The committee has scheduled a public hearing on the Bill for Wednesday 28 September 2022, commencing at 10am. Further information will be published here in due course.

COMMITTEE’S REPORT

The committee is due to table its report on Friday, 14 October 2022. The report will be published here.

TIMELINE

Submissions close:	9am on Friday, 16 September 2022
Public Briefing:	9am on Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Public Hearing:	10am on Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Report Due Date:	Friday, 14 October 2022

SELLING OFF MOTHER NATURE

In September 2021, the Rockefeller Foundation, New York Stock Exchange, Aberdare Ventures and Inter-American Development Bank, announced a new publicly tradable security called a ‘Natural Asset Company’ (NAC).

A NAC basically involves governments putting up their country’s natural assets for sale.

A piece of nature, like a protected area, forest or lake, is ‘valued’, assigned a price tag and then converted into financial capital and launched as an IPO (initial public offering) on the stock exchange.

The NAC (a state or federal government) no longer ‘owns’ the asset – institutional investors and hedge funds do!

That means global asset managers like BlackRock, who already own almost everything, could end up owning every piece of nature as well – basically what used to be regarded as the ‘commons’ – ie belonging to all.

Everything has its price when it comes to the Eco-Industrial Complex.

Proceeds from the NAC initial public offering (IPO) will be used by governments to manage the natural asset, with anything left over put towards buying more ‘protected’ natural assets to sell off.

NACs, we are told, will unlock $4 quadrillion in natural assets.

Can you imagine the feeding frenzy this will unleash?

Billionaires everywhere will be rushing to buy up the rights to clean water, clean air and fish-laden rivers, lakes and streams.

How about a snow-capped mountain or maybe an entire forest?

Hell they could end up buying the Great Barrier Reef with Uluru tossed in as a bonus!

The possibilities are endless.

Something as despicable as a NAC shouldn’t be allowed in a democracy.

Which is no help of course, since there isn’t a single democracy left on the planet.

Just a few dictators and a bunch of fascist corporatocracies.

Remember how we all tutt-tutted over African dictators looting their nations to the tune of billions in the 80s?

Well now we’ll get to witness it first-hand from the comfort of our own country.

So, let’s cut the crap.

Slapping a price tag on Nature is NOT ‘sustainable’ OR eco-friendly.

It’s straight up theft of the ‘commons’.

Do “green” ideologues seriously believe that global capital, rebranded as “stakeholder capitalists”, are actually going to ‘save’ Nature?

Can they actually be THAT stupid?

Call me crazy but I don’t trust governments and I sure as hell don’t trust transnational bankers or investment trusts.

I also don’t believe that any corporation, billionaire or globalist NGO should have the right or ability to “own” something as permanent as a mountain.