Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) (12:23:24): I make a contribution to the Gas Legislation Amendment (Medical Gas Systems) Bill 2020. Before addressing this bill directly, it is crucial to acknowledge the tragic events that led to this important action finally being taken. Four years ago, a cross-connection of gas delivery outlets at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital led to the death of John Ghanem, a newborn baby boy. A month earlier a baby girl, Amelia Khan, was left with life-altering brain damage from a similar incident. Since then the families of Amelia and John have bravely shared their stories and advocated for essential changes to be made. Our thoughts are with them today as we play our part in preventing future tragedies like this from occurring again.

In the four years since those tragedies occurred, we have witnessed complete silence and inaction from this Government. We are only here today debating a bill that the Government has finally put forward because of the good work of my colleague the Hon. Mark Buttigieg, MLC. With the consequential media attention surrounding Labor's bill, we finally saw the Government concede that it would look at addressing the lack of licensing in this industry. I thank and congratulate my colleague the Hon. Mark Buttigieg on putting forward the Building Amendment (Mechanical Services and Medical Gas Work) Bill 2020. His brilliant advocacy has done justice to the importance of this issue and has sparked this incredibly important legislative process that was well overdue. Our hope is that his good work will be enshrined in this bill, and improve the safety of hospitals and medical facilities in New South Wales for decades to come.

The Opposition introduced a robust regulatory framework as part of the medical gas bill for medical gas systems in medical facilities. This bill had been developed in consultation with industry, unions and other key stakeholders. The regulatory scheme included licensing for persons and entities involved in medical gas systems to ensure that those performing the work are adequately qualified, including having the necessary skills, experiences and qualifications. In what can only be described as a farcical and undemocratic scene on 18 July this year, the bill actually passed this House without objection from those opposite before the Temporary Speaker belatedly called for a division so that members could vote to reject the bill in what can only be seen as an attempt to save the Minister from even more embarrassment.

As the Prince of Wales Hospital in my electorate is undergoing a major redevelopment as we speak, the importance of this legislation to my electorate of Coogee, and all electorates that depend on health services in the South East Sydney Local Health District, is paramount to ensure the tragedies that occurred at Bankstown‑Lidcombe Hospital, never happen again. Unfortunately, the legislation put forward by the Government fails to address key safety measures for the industry in which medical gas operates. The legislation is consistent with how training and the trade function, and the Government have completely ignored the legislative frameworks of both Victoria and Queensland where the trade is robustly licensed and regulated. This is why I foreshadow that Labor will be moving amendments in the Legislative Council to address key safety concerns that stakeholders and industry experts have raised.

The amendments will ensure that New South Wales has a robust, regulatory framework for this kind of high-risk work. As such the Opposition will seek to amend the Gas and Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act and the Home Building Act to ensure that key safety issues are addressed within this bill. The Minister has stated that his bill was formed through feedback from stakeholders. However, a number of key stakeholders have contacted the Opposition to express their significant concerns with the Government's proposal—stakeholders that are leading experts in industry practice and training in this area, including the Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care, the industry training leader, and the Plumbing Trade Employees Union, which have been highlighting safety issues for years and years, yet the concerns have, and continue to be, completely ignored by the Government.

Currently mechanical services is not regarded as a licensed or qualified work within New South Wales, despite being a highly specialised form of plumbing work, which has a great deal of complexity and requires extensive technical training to be performed safely. Despite this complexity and the specialisation required, this legislation proposed by the Government is attempting, most unusually, to address only medical gas without addressing mechanical services, and the people who will be required to install it. The Minister has stated that creating mechanical services is for another time. In doing this, the Government would be breaking up an established trade and only licensing part of it. Put simply, this is not only unnecessary and ridiculous but also highly unsafe and does nothing to address the safety issues identified in the tragic events of 2016. The overall trade of mechanical services in which medical gas sits must be licensed as it is essential for safety, training and industry practice.

It is crucial that mechanical services work is licensed together with medical gas, as the key skills that are used in medical gas work are learnt within the mechanical services qualifications and training. Medical gas work shares the same risk profile and set with the other types of mechanical services work and that is why it is licensed under mechanical services in Queensland and Victoria.

This bill is long overdue, and it is a stain on this Government that it did not support Labor's bill. Even after the horrific tragedies of Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital the Government has ignored pleas for licensing. It has allowed work that has life-or-death consequences to be carried out by individuals who have no trade qualifications, training or experience. Therefore, it is crucial that we ensure this legislation is robust in order to make this industry as safe as other jurisdictions in Australia.

The fact that the Government is finally looking to address the gaping hole in medical gas regulation is positive. However, the manner in which it has constructed this bill, the lack of detail included, the significant lack of robust industry consultation and the lateness of its actions are all-too-familiar hallmarks of this Government's approach to legislation in New South Wales. With the adoption of the amendments that I have detailed I believe the bill can bring about the positive changes that are so badly overdue. We must get this right. The people of New South Wales deserve to be safe in their hospitals and medical facilities always. The Opposition will not oppose the bill. I thank the House.