Wednesday December 7 - Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Affairs Mick Veitch is calling on the NSW Government to boost resources for the Stock Squad following an alarming rise in incidents over the past 12 months. "According to the latest Crime Statistics released today, stock theft increased by 31.7 per cent in the year to September 2011," said Mr Veitch. "The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research revealed there were 686 incidences of stock theft this year, up from 521 last year. "The co...

Monday November 28 - Last week saw the end of the parliamentary sittings for this year, however there are still some committees working through til Christmas. The O\'Farrell/Stoner Government made a powerful enemy by ramming through legislation that cuts entitlements to injured and disabled police officers. The most damming thing about this issue was how the Coalition performed. The NSW Police Association has said from the outset that the scheme needed to be changed and they were open for negotiation with the Government. The legislation, and the way it was progressed through both Houses of the Parliament, clearly displayed the O\'Farrell Governments distrust and contempt for anyone working in the NSW Public Ser...

Wednesday November 23 - The Hon. MICK VEITCH [5.58 p.m.]: I oppose the Police Amendment (Death and Disability) Bill 2011. The object of the bill is to: (a) to terminate the existing industrial award-based scheme for death and disability payments to police officers injured at work or off-duty, (b) to replace that scheme with entitlements to death and disability payments in accordance with an approved insurance policy, (c) to amend the Industrial Relations Act 1996 to remove the jurisdiction of the Industrial Relation