Mr JENKINS(8.34) —Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. While some time has transpired since Madam Speaker's elevation to the speakership, I feel that it is still appropriate for me to commence my remarks by offering my congratulations to her as her elevation to her high office and my arrival in this place were both made possible as a consequence of the resignation of my predecessor. May she have a long and successful term as Speaker. I make the observation that at times I have been dismayed at the way in which this House has demonstrated its co-operation towards her, but I add that she has certainly served her first two months of office with distinction. It is my hope that, in the future, the House displays to her the high degree of respect which her office so richly deserves. Mr Deputy Speaker, would you also please convey my congratulations to the Chairman of Committees.

The electorate of Scullin was first created in 1955 to commemorate James Henry Scullin, Leader of the Parliamentary Australian Labor Party from 1928 to 1935 and, during the period 1929 to 1932, the fourth Labor Prime Minister of Australia. The boundaries of the division of Scullin have meandered the northern suburbs of Melbourne but the seat has never lost its fundamental working class nature. This is appropriate as, except for one term as the member for rural Corangamite, James Scullin represented the working class electorate of Yarra, which included the suburbs of Richmond, Collingwood and parts of Fitzroy.

The first member for Scullin, the late Ted Peters, was a great Labor stalwart. During his time as the member the electorate encompassed Carlton, Fitzroy and Brunswick. Ted Peters was a member of this House from 1949 to 1969 and he served the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party with distinction during a most tumultuous period of its history. At the time of the great ructions of 1955 he was the only member of the then executive to remain with the Australian Labor Party. On the occasion of the condolence motion of this House upon the death of Ted Peters in 1980, the then member for Wills, Gordon Bryant, observed:

Ted Peters always showed exceptional personal and moral courage, and political strength in standing his ground. He was a person who over the years became more radical than he had been in his youth.

It is a pity that a member such as Ted Peters should spend his 20 years in this place on the Opposition benches.

Mr Hollis —You won't.

Mr JENKINS —I thank the honourable member. At the 1969 redistribution the boundaries of the Scullin electorate became centred upon the suburbs of Preston and Reservoir. At that election my predecessor and father, Dr Harry Jenkins, was elected as the second member for Scullin. My fellow members are in a better position to comment on the service which my predecessor gave to this House. Suffice for me to say that he is highly regarded in the electorate, having first worked in the area as a local general practitioner, then as a local State member, followed by his 16 years in this House. In an article in the Melbourne Herald during the run-up to the by-election, a local resident, who was asked to comment upon my prospects, was quoted as saying:

I think the kid'll do a good job if he's anywhere near as cunning and shrewd as his old man.

Of course, to bring some balance to the situation, another resident commented:

The Labor Party could stand silly Dave out this way and still win.

I contend that silly Dave did not get preselection! All this aside, I am extremely proud to have succeeded my father as the member for Scullin and, more importantly, I am extremely proud to stand here today as the third Labor member for Scullin. It would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to thank again the many Party members and supporters who came from all parts of Victoria and interstate and worked so hard during the by-election campaign and who assisted in making the Party's outstanding victory possible, ensuring that the people of Scullin so decisively demonstrated their continuing support for the Hawke Labor Government. I would like also to acknowledge publicly the support given to me by my wife, Michele, and my two sons, Benjamin and Emlyn. Without their patience and understanding I would not be here today.

Since the redistribution of 1984 the electorate of Scullin has straddled the major portions of two municipalities on Melbourne's northern urban fringe-the City of Broadmeadows and the Shire of Whittlesea. The electorate includes the suburbs of Glenroy, Hadfield, Fawkner, Campbellfield, Jacana and Upfield from Broadmeadows, and Thomastown, Lalor, parts of Epping and Bundoora from the Shire of Whittlesea. Both these fine municipalities, with their Labor majorities, have displayed their ability and willingness to co-operate with both State and Federal governments in many joint initiatives-such things as successful community employment projects, provision of aged care and children's services and, in the traditional areas, the provision of physical infrastructure. Often the economic value of the provision of infrastructure is overlooked. As the Minister for Transport (Mr Peter Morris) said this morning, this Government has a fine record in providing record levels of road funding. The municipalities of both Broadmeadows and Whittlesea have characteristics indicative of their many needs. Broadmeadows has vast areas of public housing, badly planned and set up, with little or no support services. The Shire of Whittlesea is the fastest growing municipality in metropolitan Melbourne. The rapid growth has brought with it the difficulty of finding resources to provide essential services, further compounded by the growing expectation of local government to be involved in the provision of a widening range of services. I am proud to add that I have served the Shire of Whittlesea as a councillor since 1979 and I had the honour of serving one term as Shire President. I therefore note with interest that a large number of my colleagues on both sides of the House have served as either councillors or aldermen prior to entering this place.

Unashamedly, I bring with me a strong commitment to the further strengthening of local government and an understanding of the need to ensure that local government is recognised as a partner and treated as such in the planning and implementation of beneficial community projects and services. It has been my experience that too often local government is dismissed as some form of underlining subservient to other spheres of government. This serves only to denigrate the important contribution made by local government. That is not to say that local government does not need to ensure that it keeps its own performance and relevance under review. I am saddened that in my home State of Victoria the present process of restructure has deteriorated to an emotional and emotive free for all, with the opponents of restructure not willing to allow logical debate and discussion of the various options open. I welcome the statement made last week by the Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services (Mr Uren) announcing the Government's decision to continue with the program of untied grants to local government.

Mr Gear —A good Minister.

Mr JENKINS —He is a good Minister, indeed. I especially applaud the emphasis that the principal objective of the new arrangements will be to provide financial assistance to those councils most disadvantaged with respect to their ability to raise revenue and provide services. Another important aspect of the announcement which has been well received is the guarantee that in real terms the overall funding will be at least equal to the present level of funding. Without the important untied grants from the Commonwealth, municipalities such as Broadmeadows and Whittlesea would have to forgo many services and forestall their present increasing role in the area of community development.

One extremely important topic I would like to raise tonight is the Government's intention to provide 20,000 full-time child care places between 1985 and the end of 1988. To many families quality child care is a fundamental requirement, not only through choice but in many cases through necessity, and I refer to single parents and families whose financial circumstances require both parents to take employment. At present, within the Scullin electorate there are only two community-based child care centres, providing 92 places. They are supplemented by family day care schemes and four privately run child care centres. With over 7,500 children under five years of age, the demand far outstrips the available places. The provision of child care is an important aspect of this Government's commitment to promoting equal employment opportunity.

I mentioned earlier the need for proper consultation with local government in regard to policy implementation. The Victorian experience with the introduction of new child care centres last year and the subsequent modification of funding arrangements, which were implemented at the start of this month, is an example of the need for more adequate discussions by all spheres of government and interested parties to ensure that all are aware of what is required. Much of the confusion that arose was in part as a result of misinformation that was bandied around and was in part due to difficulties that the Municipal Association of Victoria as an umbrella body had in co-ordinating the individual councils. To the credit of the Minister for Community Services (Senator Grimes), the Office of Child Care, local government, and the relevant State authorities, a successful consultative mechanism has been put in place. This group will review the performance of the new arrangements with regard to both the fee structure and quality of service provided. In the meantime, the Government is now in a position to continue to facilitate additional places, in a climate where all involved are aware of what is required of them.

One of the most striking aspects of the demography of the Scullin electorate is the high percentage-some 38 per cent-of the population born overseas; an outstanding majority of these people having been born in non-English speaking countries. Some 69 per cent of the population either was born overseas or has one or both parents who were born overseas. The major ethnic communities represented are Italian, Greek, Macedonian and Turkish. In addition, there are many other communities with smaller numbers. These migrants have made a major contribution to the development of Australia. In passing, I congratulate the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (Mr Hurford) for his statement last week announcing a modest increase in the annual migrant intake. This decision is based on sound economic assessment of the positive effect of such levels of intake, and it should be welcomed.

It should be remembered that the Government must continue to be alert to the special needs of migrants and ethnic communities in general. In particular, I would like to turn my attention to one aspect of this matter, and that is care of aged migrants. Many of the migrants who moved to areas in my electorate, such as Thomastown, Lalor and Fawkner, came to Australia as part of the post-war immigration surge. They are now approaching or entering retirement. Last month the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs released a study entitled `Research Findings: Community and Institutional Care for Aged Migrants in Australia'. This detailed study made many pertinent points about the special problems encountered by the ethnic aged and their special needs. The findings showed that the ethnic elderly were more inclined to favour community-based facilities rather than institutionalised care. Fortunately, this Government's general policies for aged care support this notion, and much will be done through initiatives such as the home and community care program to increase access to community-based care. As the report indicates, we must be careful not to provide and deliver services which lack cultural sensitivity and diversity. To avoid this problem, co-operative action by governments and ethnic communities will be required.

Another matter raised by the report is the lack of knowledge about the services available. Much of the problem is caused by information not being made available in the various community languages of the target groups. Therefore, the importance of the ethnic media, especially print and radio, must be emphasised. Ethnic radio and television must continue to be supported. Migrant resource centres are also important in the dissemination of information, and they warrant our continued support. As the number of ethnic aged rapidly increases, government agencies and community groups would be well advised to use the research findings to ensure that services they provide are of relevance and meet the needs of the groups to which they are targeted.

Another topic I wish to raise is directly relevant to Appropriation Bill (No. 3) which, amongst many other things, allocates additional money for compensation in various government departments. From my experience before coming to this place, having worked in the Public Service and having visited regional offices of various departments in my electorate, I contend that a good portion of this compensation relates to repetition strain injury-RSI-which within the Public Service if unchecked will reach epidemic proportions. In recognition of the increasing costs as a result of RSI, a task force of the Public Service Board was set up to investigate the problem. Last year, after thoroughly studying the situation, the task force made a series of recommendations. A number of these recommendations were based on the need for change in work practices and arrangements, by way of altering work patterns and paying more attention to the ergonomic requirements of work stations. These types of changes can be implemented only with proper consultation between management and Public Service staff associations, that is, the relevant unions. There is a need to emphasise this point not only as fundamental in the implementation of industrial democracy but as a practical way to achieve solutions. For the Government's part, I hope that economic restraint will not be used as an excuse not to continue the speedy implementation of sound occupational health and safety measures such as the provision of ergonomic furniture and adequate levels of staffing to allow for appropriate rest periods for keyboard staff.

In the general area of occupational health, the Government has a fine record. The establishment of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission is a major step forward. The Commission, with its participation of government, employer groups and unions, has an important task in working to heighten the awareness of health and safety issues within the community and, through this, in making Australian work places healthy and safe.

It is a pity that the time allotted for me to speak is so relatively short, especially when one has such an attentive audience. For that and for showing me the usual courtesies, I thank the House. There are many other matters that I would like to canvass but I will address myself to only a couple more.

Peace and disarmament are important topics: Witness the many people in the streets of our capital cities and at other venues on Palm Sunday. In this, the International Year of Peace, Australia should take the opportunity to use the various world forums at her disposal to push for greater understanding between nations. Such events as those that occurred in the Mediterranean today are very distressing, especially to our young people who live in horror and fear of possible nuclear holocausts as a result of escalating world tension.

Australia, as it approaches its bicentenary, has the opportunity to exert its independence on the world stage. This acquisition of independence is very much a gradual process. I was interested when researching James Scullin's life to read of the difficulties of the 1930s when he, as an Australian Prime Minister, recommended our first Australian Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, and encountered much opposition from a patronising British Government. Fortunately things have changed, albeit gradually.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the Victorian Government on its social justice strategy. I join with many others in urging the Federal Government to develop a national social justice strategy. Much has been done by this Government to engender economic recovery, and this is widely acknowledged except perhaps by people such as the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr Carlton) tonight. It seems to me that it would be appropriate to build on this sound economic strategy and work for equity in and access to resources for the disadvantaged and needy. We must ensure that, in sustaining this economic growth, steps are not taken by way of spending constraint that affect the lower paid and underprivileged in our community.

In my electorate, which in various areas and using various criteria is highly disadvantaged, there is a great need to protect those who find themselves entrapped in the tentacles of poverty. The many people to whom emergency relief has become a necessary source of additional income, instead of a source of assistance in times of crisis due to unexpected emergencies and expenses, look to this Government to use this economic growth actively to their advantage. Thus, in conclusion, I leave the House with this very apt quote from the writings of James Henry Scullin, the words of which are inscribed on his memorial. They read:

Justice and humanity demand interference whenever the weak are being crushed by the strong.