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House Debates–Private Members' Business–Haiti (8/2/10) |
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Debate resumed, on motion by Ms Parke:
That the House:
(1)
expresses its:
(a)
deep sympathy for the people of Haiti following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck on 12 January 2010 causing terrible devastation, including large-scale loss of life and injury; destruction of homes, buildings and infrastructure; and widespread hunger, thirst, homelessness and lack of security;
(b)
deep sympathy for the United Nations as this disaster has caused the greatest loss of life of United Nations staff members in the organisation's history; and
(c)
strong appreciation for the critical work of the United Nations in Haiti, which it continues to perform under extremely difficult circumstances;
(2)
strongly supports the actions of the Government in providing funding in the amount of $10 million for immediate emergency relief in Haiti, and $5 million for reconstruction, as well as technical assistance in the relief and reconstruction effort;
(3)
urges the Government to consider the provision of further funding and assistance towards the reconstruction effort over the months and years ahead;
(4)
notes its appreciation of the contribution of many United Nations' member states and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to the aid effort in Haiti; and
(5)
recognises and welcomes the generous and compassionate contributions made by many Australians, and by Australian-based NGOs and charities to the relief efforts in Haiti.
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Cantonment Hill returned to the people of Fremantle (21/01/10) |
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The Prime Minister today announced the sale of areas of land at the Fremantle Artillery Barracks in Western Australia commonly known as Cantonment Hill to the City of Fremantle.
The Australian Government has approved the concessional sale of three areas of land which form part of the 3.87 hectare site to the City of Fremantle on the basis that it will redevelop the land for ongoing community use.
The City of Fremantle intends to incorporate the land into the existing Cantonment Hill Reserve to restore the land for public use, create a safe public park and regenerate the native bushland.
"This is a fantastic result for Fremantle and the wider Western Australian community," said Melissa Parke, Federal Member for Fremantle. "It will return to our community the views and public open space of a vantage point that was always intended to be Fremantle's equivalent of Kings Park."
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Haiti Earthquake Disaster - Appeal for Donations to UNICEF (15/01/10) |
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Melissa Parke, Member for Fremantle, and Chair of the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF, and Senator Simon Birmingham, the Association's Deputy Chair have called on concerned Australians to donate to UNICEF's emergency appeal in order to provide life-saving essentials for those affected by the Haitian earthquake.
Donations can be made by visiting www.unicef.org.au or by calling 1300 884 233.
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House Debates-Adjournment-Copyright (19/11/09) |
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Ms Parke (4:44 pm) – I want to reflect today on the government's decision to keep in place the system of territorial copyright and the parallel importation restrictions that have served Australia's writers, readers, publishers, printers and independent booksellers so well. I commend the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy and Labor's working party on this issue for their conduct of this matter and its outcome. As the member for Fremantle, I was happy to be one of the many people making the case to retain the existing arrangement.
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House Debates-Matters of Public Importance-Australia's Foreign Relations (19/11/09) |
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Ms Parke (4:22 pm) – This debate is another case of the opposition grasping a highly questionable premise for the sake of some dubious political point scoring. No-one in this place expects that a political debate should be anything other than frank and even fierce, but at the same time one would hope that debates on the really important topics would spring from justifiable cause. Yet in the course of this year we have seen the opposition make claims against the Prime Minister and call for the Prime Minister's resignation on the basis of a fraudulent email provided to them by a disgruntled public servant with a track record of assisting the Liberal Party. Today we debate a proposition with an equally hollow and questionable basis. Again, it is a proposition that rebounds upon those who advance it.
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