However, the level of social disorder, mayhem, and senseless violence now erupting on the streets of both urban and regional New South Wales is unprecedented, at least since drunken gangs of convicts roamed the streets of the new colony; it is not harmless fun being indulged in by a few youths. And it is not just so-called ‘wowsers’ who are appalled by what they see happening. The statistics are nauseating: apparently one in four teenagers across Australia has been hospitalised as the result of an alcohol-related incident – being either the culprit or the victim. What kind of madness is that?

Dr Gordian Fulde, Head of Emergency Services at St Vincent’s Hospital described the recent Mardi Gras weekend as “ a war zone, absolute carnage”. Even with extra staff on hand, many partiers had to wait a long time to be seen for their broken bones and smashed faces. He explained with some apparent desperation to the press, “If everybody drank less and thought about what they put into their bodies they wouldn’t get into trouble.” But alas they do not drink less, and do not think about what they put into their bodies. St Vincents, as well as the other hospitals, report the same kind of inundation every weekend by injured drunks and drug users from age 13 and up.

The breakdown of our society has gone so far that alcohol related bashings and murders are no longer unusual; they are now just part of the regular news. The senseless beatings to death of hapless strangers; the stomped heads of innocent people walking home after work or a birthday party; the unrecognisably mutilated face of the Irish backpacker who will never recover full brain function. What kind of savagery is this, and why are we not calling it what it actually is: a state of emergency?

Installing cameras on every corner will not help if this behaviour becomes the standard that society simply accepts. The very telling photograph in the Monday 1 March 2010 Telegraph with young men in a Kings Cross fast food outlet mulling over what to order as they stand next to a floor drenched with blood from an attack minutes before illustrates vividly the desensitisation of our society. I suspect the audience at the Roman gladiatorial games would not have looked twice at the blood, either, unless there was some entertainment value of an attack in progress. Or are we all just too cool to show any human feeling, any respect for life, or any shock?

What kind of people carry on as if it is ‘work as normal’ with their premises bloodied? People who don’t know any better. Besides being an OH&S slipping hazard if stepped in, blood can carry killer viruses Hep B, HIV, etc. If not out of respect for the terribly injured man taken to hospital with his throat slashed why not some basic respect for food safety, or at the very least aesthetics? Looking at and smelling blood spilled in violence should, at the very least, be off-putting. It should make ordinary people with their consciences still intact lose their appetites. But because no one cared the workers carried on, the hungry guys in line carried on. No one said: “Stop. This is inappropriate. Close the shop; it is a crime scene.” Of course not, it would have meant a loss of a few dollars income, wouldn’t it?

What is decency? Can it be taught to adults on a population wide basis, or is that a hopeless task? It does not seem to be a common trait in today’s Sydney. If the populace cannot be spontaneously decent then perhaps they can at least be controlled by the authorities, a suggestion which will appal the civil libertarians. The authorities should renew their commitment and capacity enforce the legislation already on the books such as The Crimes Act 40/1900; the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002; the Liquor Act 2007; the Local Government Acts pertaining to alcohol free zones; road transport legislation with regard to drink driving; and the Summary Offences Act.

And while they are at it, why should we not seriously consider raising the drinking age to 21? Enough research has already established that younger brains are too immature to handle alcohol properly, and in addition are seriously stunted by it. Such age limits work elsewhere, where they are appropriately enforced, why not here? Elements of our society that demand 24-hour access to alcohol for anyone who wants it are not concerned about people’s welfare. Who really needs another drink at 2 am, 3 am, or 4 am? Giving alcohol to people who have nothing better to do with their time than pickle their brains is plain stupid. These are the very people who have no self-control when they finally leave the premises; are quick to be offended, quick to use weapons or their boots. Are drunks’ rights to order another drink or hotels’ rights to sell it a higher priority than the civil rights and safety of the innocent non-drinking people on their way home from a concert or their jobs who will later be set upon?

A few years ago we had not even heard yet of glassings, and now they are happen regularly, damaging faces, destroying vision, scarring people for life. Knives are being used more and more frequently, turning a normal night out into terrible injury in a moment of insanity. And now, in the midst of all this ghastly bloodshed, the demand for ‘cage fighting’ is growing – where, I note, the rules allow for kicking and punching after the opponent has been knocked to the floor. A sold-out arena hosted such a fight last week with the crowd in a frenzy of bloodlust. If this dark side of human nature continues to be indulged and catered to then I foresee the eventual demand for Roman-style gladiatorial games within 20 years, at most. Why not, if that is what people want? Isn’t that the reasoning behind allowing the grotesque spectacle of cage fighting?

Well, I will explain why not. Because blood sports are not decent, they are depraved. They desensitise us, and cater to the savage side of human nature. Public drunkenness is not decent: men and women vomiting and urinating in neighbours’ gardens around the nation’s racetracks and nightspots are not being decent. I believe that laws against public drunkenness should be brought back. The safety for all law-abiding citizens should be made the number one priority for every authority. Standards of decency in public should be reintroduced to a people hardened by drink and indifference to the violence and the suffering of their fellow human beings.

What we need now is a new Telemachus to stand up and say: “This is wrong. Enough is enough!” Better yet we need all concerned citizens to stand up and say ‘this is not acceptable behaviour’, and to force the government and police to make the streets safe again. I will do what I can in Parliament, please do what you can in your communities. We all need to work together to reclaim the streets of our society for decency.

Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC

There remains major performance issues with Sydney metropolitan buses although significant advances have been made as a result of the Unsworth review in 2004, with new bus contracts, a network improvement program, strategic corridors and uniform bus fares and concessions.

According to the Auditor General, wide variations in service levels exist, with privately operated services less frequent and less accessible than publicly run services. For instance, a survey in 2009 showed that 1 in 4 bus users said they were left standing at the bus stop at least once a week and 1 in 3 wanted to catch a bus at times when the services had stopped operating.

There is also a wide disparity in the costs of operating metropolitan bus services, with some regions costing just over $4 per kilometre compared with almost $10 per kilometre in other regions. The Auditor-General added: “With bus contracts worth $5.6 billion over seven years, the public is entitled to value for money. Contracts were directly negotiated with existing operators and not through an open competitive tender process. This may prove costly to the public.”

The Auditor General outlined three key solutions to improve the performance of Sydney buses. “The transport department needs to benchmark performance, hold bus operators accountable, and introduce penalties for poor performance. Secondly, they need to strengthen controls on operator self-reporting to ensure that performance information is accurate. Thirdly, there has to be more frequent bus customer satisfaction and usage surveys.”

Sydney’s metropolitan bus services play an essential role in helping people access work, education, shopping, health services, as well as social, cultural and recreational activities. They help to reduce traffic congestion and pollution in Sydney’s roads. Critical investment in bus services is needed in order to have an effective and efficient metropolitan transport plan for Sydney.

Despite spending upwards of $100 million a year on juvenile justice centres … NSW is achieving a poor return on investment for this spending. It is not effective in reducing juvenile offending.

Will the NSW Government implement the report recommendations and establish a policy of ‘justice reinvestment’ that focuses on early intervention strategies, rehabilitation or diversionary programs instead of condemning hundreds of young people to a life in jail

The Hon. Peter Primrose: As the honourable member indicated, the Minister for Juvenile Justice has responsibility for issues directly dealing with young offenders and the services that the Government provides for their rehabilitation. However, I am glad to provide the honourable member and the House with some information of the measures taken in this area. Last year the Minister for Juvenile Justice commissioned a high-level review of the juvenile justice system in New South Wales. The review considered broad government policy and legislation aimed at improving the juvenile justice system, in line with State Plan goals to reduce youth crime and reoffending.

The last review of the juvenile justice system was undertaken more than a decade ago, and national and international research and experience of effective methods of dealing with young offenders has progressed significantly since then. One key element of the review was to assess research and programs for their applicability in New South Wales. The review evaluated the impact of existing legislation, policy and practice and developed recommendations to government on appropriate reforms to reduce juvenile reoffending. The review was recently completed and Cabinet is considering the report and its recommendations. A high-level working group is to be established to develop a whole-of-government response.

The Hon. Tony Kelly: Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes has asked a detailed question, which I will take it on notice and obtain an answer for him. In the interim, I can inform him that there is a process for local environmental plan preparation and the recommendation from the department will come to me soon.

The Hon. John Hatzistergos: In reality the New South Wales Government has invested heavily in expanding the range of free legal services that are available through legal aid in New South Wales, in particular, during the period in which the Howard Government pulled back funding for that specific purpose. It pulled back funding for a range of disadvantaged communities. Even the veterans who were appealing against decisions made by the Department of Veterans Affairs had their funding cut and we had to fill that vacuum. Traditionally, the Commonwealth Government funds Aboriginal legal services. It funds those services, and this Government provides some in-kind support for the services that it provides. As I said, the Commonwealth Government has always funded Aboriginal legal services.

Under a funding agreement the Commonwealth Government also funds family law services. Legal Aid New South Wales provides the services but the funding comes from the Commonwealth Government. I am pleased that in more recent times, under Robert McClelland, the Commonwealth Attorney-General, funding has been restored—not to the level that we would like, but it is much more substantial than it has been in the past. I am not aware of the research to which the member has referred. If he wishes to provide it to me, I will be happy to look at it and make appropriate recommendations to the Commonwealth that may flow from the issues that he has raised.

Choice, the consumer watchdog agency, has awarded the RSPCA ‘Paw of Approval’ a high rating in its review of the various food labelling schemes found in Australian supermarkets. The ‘Paw of Approval’, fashioned on the lines of the tick from the Heart Foundation on foods it deems to be heart-healthy, can be found on eggs and pork products at this time. Soon the RSPCA Paw will also be applied to chicken meat products. The presence of the paw indicated that the foods have been produced to the RSPCA’s high animal welfare standards. It is wonderful to know that the RSPCA standards are actually much higher than those required by law or recommended by the various model codes of practice. The RSPCA standards ensure that animals in these farming systems are provided with an environment that meets their behavioural and physiological needs so now your family’s food purchases can help improve the lives of farm animals in Australia.

With so many endorsement programs now appearing on food labels, how do you know which ones truly live up to their lofty claims? Choice’s panel of experts examined the claims of the ten most recognised health and sustainability logos to determine their credibility. They cannot really be compared, as the programs reviewed were quite different – standing for different key issues, values and goals, such as the improvement of conditions for developing-world farmers, protecting dolphins from tuna fishers, improving human health, supporting sustainable agriculture, and of course improving the level of awareness of the humane treatment of farm animals raised commercially. The very worthwhile and fascinating results of their inquiry are online and far too extensive to summarise here.

Choice also alerts consumers that Australian supermarkets are now full of foods with ingredients that could be derived from genetically modified (GM) crops because much of the meat, eggs and dairy products could come from animals fed GM feed. Although scientific evidence seems to suggest GM foods may be harmless, not everyone feels like being guinea pigs. Current labelling regulations make it almost impossible for consumers to know when they’re buying GM foods and that is just wrong. With over 11,988,044 hectares, Australia has the largest amount of certified-organic farmland in the world, according to the 2008 Australian Organic Market Report and there should be a dependable mechanism in place to guarantee consumers know the produce they can trust.

According to Choice, the only GM food crops currently produced in Australia are canola and cotton. However, they warn, nearly all processed foods may now contain GM products because Food Standards Australia New Zealand permits manufacturers to use a wide range of GM ingredients imported from overseas including GM soybeans, canola, corn, rice, sugarbeet, and potatoes, with no requirement that the foods be labelled to inform safety- minded consumers. Dr Moyes believes this problem needs to be addressed, and has spoken out on all of these vital issues before.

To read his speeches and articles please click on the following links: Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Amendment Bill 2009, Chickens, Are you eating unlabelled genetically modified GM foods, GE Canola hits the supermarket shelves, Slow food, Farmers’ markets.

For more information please go to: http://www.rspca.org.au/news/choice-backs-paw-of-approval.html and http://www.choice.com.au/

This month American Customs authorities are going to return the coffin to Egypt’s Antiquities Chief Zahi Hawass, after it was confiscated in 2008 from a Spanish merchant by immigration inspectors in Florida, where it had apparently been shipped for sale. The Spanish dealer had no papers proving his ownership of the casket, which prompted investigation.

The US Department of Homeland Security then discovered that the dealer had family ties with the owners of an Egyptian museum in Madrid where it had been a popular exhibit the year before. Last year the authorities in Egypt asked the US to return the coffin to them, as it is very important culturally. It has been dated to the 21st dynasty (1081-931 BC) and holds the mummified remains of a male named Emus. Nothing else is yet known about this mysterious personage but his lavish burial implies his importance.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) is the branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture that is responsible for the conservation, protection and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in their country. It was established in 1859 although its title has changed several times over the years. The SCA is responsible for defining the boundaries around archaeological sites and is also the only agent permitted to restore or preserve Egyptian monuments. All foreign archaeologists working in Egypt are required to report all of their finds before publication, which has led to some of them being expelled when they refused to do so. The Cairo-based SCA also oversees the recovery of antiquities either stolen or illegally exported from Egypt.

Since 2002 about 5000 such antiquities and cherished cultural relics have been returned to Egypt due to the remarkable diligence of the Secretary General of the SCA Chief, Mr Hawass. He will be going to Washington DC in person to reclaim the treasure. We understand that before long he also hopes to retrieve the bust of Queen Nefertiti from the Neues Museum in Germany, the Dendara Zodiac from the Louvre and the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum. With his admirable success so far we think he will succeed in his mission.

Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC

In the CBD. For the past 100 years, Sydney has been blessed with a Public Library that would be the best in the Southern Hemisphere. To celebrate this centenary the magnificent group of buildings on Macquarie Street have been inviting the public to view their one hundred most unusual objects from the 15th Century in their collections. This includes our earliest diaries (by Joseph Banks, Matthew Flinders and others), the first paintings of Antarctica and Australia, and the earliest correspondence from convicts sand colonialists, an unrivalled collection of some 40,000 books, 300 pictures and about 1400 manuscript volumes. My bedroom window each night Parliament is sitting looks out onto the floodlit Library and the Parliament. Down Macquarie Street centenary flags are flying. Visit the Library and marvel at the exhibits. The public own the Mitchell Library and are invited to join the free celebration.

On the Central Coast. All talk is about the rain of course. Dams are full and spirits are high. The Central Coast Bears, our main Rugby League team are in high spirits. Forget a second AFL team at Blacktown, the talk of the Coast is after a 100 year history, will the Bears be back in the NRL? The NRL support an application for the 2013 season. There are a million people between the original North Sydney ground and Lake Munmorah. There are 7000 young Rugby League players on the Central Coast looking for a senior team. Bluetongue Stadium at Gosford seats 20,000 and is among the finest stadiums in the nation for Rugby. This year a formal bid will be made. After water, this is the next big issue around the cafes and sporting clubs.

Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC

Robert Richardson Smith was born the 22nd of October 1918, during the last year of the first World War, to Mary and Samuel Smith of western Newcastle, where both branches of his parents’ families had been established for many generations.

Robert was a young teen during the Great Depression, and it forged indelible memories in him of the social and economic desperation he had seen personally. He told stories of the other children at school with no shoes, wearing shabby clothes, and going without sufficient food. Most of their fathers were unemployed – but not his, and he knew how lucky his family was.

Robert was always conservative with money and advised people not to be complacent, reminding others that the events of the Depression could happen again one day. As Robert grew up his family were devout Methodists – and they attended church services every Sunday morning and evening.

When he completed school he commenced working at BHP, as his father had done for many years. It was while working at BHP that he received the call to commit his life to Jesus Christ and to enter the Methodist ministry. He attended the Melbourne College of Divinity, earning his Diploma of Religious Education and Licentiate of Theology. He was ordained in Wesley Chapel in Sydney in 1949. As a young man, Robert was particularly inspired by the ministry of the late Rev Dr Sir Alan Walker.

His first appointment following Ordination was to Milton on the south coast of NSW – a Methodist circuit that extended from Sussex Inlet in the north to Bateman’s Bay in the south. His transport in those days was an A Model Ford.

From that first appointment, he always had that evangelical zeal and the deep conviction to make a difference in people’s lives. He truly practiced Christ’s teaching to “go into all the world & preach the gospel”. From Milton he was appointed to the Wollongong circuit where met Miss Dorothy Mae Crux, an active member of the Port Kembla Methodist church who worked as a nurse at Wollongong Hospital. They were married in 1949.

Following this term at Wollongong, his appointments thereafter were to Dunoon on the far north coast of NSW, then Mudgee, then a return to Newcastle to Hamilton Wesley Church in 1957. Hamilton Wesley was a particularly happy time as it reunited him with his parents, and it was a large, dynamic church.

Then he moved on to Chatswood South Methodist Church in 1963. Robert later transferred from a ‘Circuit ministry’ and commenced with the Department of Home Mission. In 1966 he undertook the first of many overseas preaching and study tours, being away half of that first year in the USA, UK and Western Europe, and sailing home as the Methodist Chaplain aboard an ocean liner.

While in the US he became a very strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and was deeply inspired by the work and preaching of the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Robert also admired the ministry of Rev Billy Graham.

In the late 1960’s Robert was appointed General Superintendent of the Department of Home Mission, which later evolved into the Board of Mission with him as the new General Secretary, where he remained for 17 years. In the late 1970’s he invited me to come from Victoria to New South Wales to lecture Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational ministers on “How to grow an Australian Church”. That was my first introduction to those Churches in New South Wales.

Robert was one of the key architects of the merging of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Churches into the Uniting Church in Australia, and in 1975 he was appointed President of the Australian Council of Churches (NSW) for 3 years.

After nearly 20 years on the Board of Mission he returned to a parish ministry at Castle Hill in the mid 1980’s. He officially retired from the ministry of the Uniting Church over 20 years ago, already well beyond typical retirement age, but it was a retirement in name only.

He was invited not long afterwards to be an Associate Minister at St Stephen’s Uniting Church in Macquarie Street for a ‘short-term’ position that actually went on for 10 years. He sat on the Board of the Wesley Mission for 41 years and in 2005 I presented him with the Superintendent’s award for all those years of service and dedication. My friendship with him for over 35 years was always cordial and appreciative.

Robert Richardson Smith was an immensely positive and driven person. He lived a very long and full life. He died peacefully at home with his wife beside him, just as she had been for 60 years. I admired him greatly, and I know that he was greeted at the gates of heaven by the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’.