ROSEMARY ARMITAGE MLC

Wednesday 27 May 2026 [12.37 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Thank you, Madam Deputy President. As a former councillor and deputy mayor of Launceston, I feel I have a good understanding of council, like other members in this place. More recent members of Council are probably a little bit more up to date than I am with the workings. This bill seeks to bring in a number of measures to address issues which have arisen over time for our local governments and councils. It's clear

Tuesday 26 May 2026 Mr President, I think it would be safe to say that all of us have an allergy to something, or at least know someone who has. Common allergies, like allergic rhinitis - or hay fever - eczema and reactions to animal dander can usually be managed with over the counter medicines or a small changes to their environments. But for some people, their allergies can have a huge effect on their quality of life, making treating and managing them so much more important

Tuesday 19 May 2026 Mr President, As stated in the Afloat magazine of May 2026 by Kevin Green “Tasmanian sailors are known for their hardiness and none more so than the Gourlay family with both father Ken and now son Tristan completing circumnavigations”. Today I highlight the extraordinary efforts of yachtsman Tristan Gourlay, who recently broke the Australian record for a solo, unassisted, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. At 1.35pm on the 9th of November, Tristan de

Wednesday 16 April 2026 National Resource Management Funding Ms ARMITAGE question to LEADER for the GOVERNMENT in the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, Ms RATTRAY [2.43 p.m.] With regard to funding arrangements for the three Tasmanian Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisations, can the Leader please advise: (1) How does the Premier/government interpret core funding for the purposes of resourcing the three NRM organisations in Tasmania? Does it refer to the $544,000 per

Tuesday 14 April 2026 Today I want to speak about Dr Brian Herman, an interventional cardiologist who has spent the last 23 years at the Launceston General Hospital pioneering treatments that have saved countless lives. Recently, Brian launched his book Becoming That Guy , which chronicles not only his time at the LGH, but also his journey from the Bronx in New York to an island on the other side of the world. Mr President, in a recent Examiner article profiling the book, Br

Thursday 26 March 2026 [3.34 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank everyone who's briefed us, and we've had a number of meetings, plus I've had a tour of the affected site, and I do appreciate that there are very passionate people on both sides of the argument. At the end of the day, I must make a decision that I consider to be in the best interests of the students and the community. Mr President, this bill has been on the horizon for quite some time. It h

Thursday 26 March 2026 Pass all stages [10.26 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Thank you, Mr President. I believe I do my job properly. I listen to the briefings. We have an emergency and a crisis, and I agree with the member for Hobart. As the member for Hobart said, she was surprised that she was agreeing with the government at the time, and I'm agreeing with the member for Hobart, and I take offence if people say we don't do our job properly as an Independent if I'm prepa

Tuesday 24 March 2026 Florfenicol Use in Tasmania [12.37 p.m.] Ms O'CONNOR (Hobart) - Mr President, I move - That the Legislative Council: (1) Notes evidence presented to parliament during the Budget Estimates process confirming more than 800 kilograms of the antibiotic, florfenicol, was used by salmon companies in south‑east waters in just three weeks following its recent federal approval for use in Tasmania. (2) Notes that data about the quantit

Thursday 19 March 2026 [12.18 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I welcome the opportunity to respond to the Premier's state of the state address and to reflect on what it means for northern Tasmania, and in particular for the people of Launceston. The Premier's Address was ambitious, confident and forward‑looking. They spoke to Tasmania with big ideas and a belief in its capacity to deliver major projects and seize opportunity. In many respects, that confidenc

Wednesday 18 March 2026 [12.22 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, no words can adequately do justice to the tragedy or the magnitude of the crimes perpetrated on 14 December 2025. I rise today to join those who speak up for the victims, advocate for peace and reason, and condemn unequivocally, those who commit acts of such senseless violence or who fail to act to prevent them. In Australia, we've believed that acts of terror were horrors that happened elsewhere

Tuesday 11 November 2025 Noting - Budget Papers 2025-26 & Appropriation Bills (No. 1 & No. 2) [3.59 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, here we are looking at yet another budget this year, and it doesn't seem like all that much has really changed when it comes to our short‑, medium ‑ and long‑term economic outlooks. Sitting suspended from 4.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. MOTION Noting - Budget Papers 2025-26 and Appropriation Bills (No. 1 and No. 2) Resumed from

Thursday 6 November 2025 [12.27 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the Leader for bringing forward this important bill. I have some remarks to make. The Dangerous Criminals and High Risk Offenders Act 2021 marked an important legislative change to the way in which offenders who are considered to pose an unacceptable risk of committing another serious offence are dealt with by our justice system. It is considered to be a strong legislative tool because

Wednesday 5 November 2025 [5.12 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the Deputy Leader for bringing the bill forward today and for the briefings. I will make a few remarks. This bill is set to amend the Residential Tenancy Act 1997 to enable tenants to apply to the owner of a property they are renting to keep one or more pets, with the owner only being able to refuse the keeping of a pet on reasonable grounds. This is a permission-based model, as the De

Tuesday 4 November 2025 [6.02 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Madam Acting President, I will make a short contribution. Much has already been said. I must admit, when I first started looking at this bill, I was in two minds: do I support it, or don't I support it? Listening to the contributions today has been interesting. I have to say I appreciated your contribution, as the member for a week. I accept the members that are opposed and as I said, I wasn't sure whether I wo

Thursday 25 September 2025 [4.04 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I first thank those who briefed us this morning, who came along and gave us their opinions. It's really important to have stakeholders and people in the community come along and brief us on bills - certainly ones as important as this. This is a very important bill that goes to the heart of community expectations. It is rare that we get the opportunity in this place to express the wills of our c

Thursday 25 September 2025 [11.06 a.m.] Mr VINCENT (Prosser - Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council) - Mr President, I move - That the Legislative Council disallow, in accordance with section 3G of the Parliamentary Salaries, Superannuation and Allowances Act 2012, the determination contained in the May 2025 report of the Full Bench of the Tasmanian Industrial Commission into Parliamentary Salaries and Allowances. [11.58 a.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston)

Thursday 25 September 2025 [3.22 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the honourable Leader for bringing forward this very interesting bill. Government businesses are not just important to our economy and the running of our state, but they're also important to Tasmanians. They are major employers and, in many circumstances, express our state's brand. It's therefore important that we make sure they're well managed, well resourced and that we ensure they ha

Thursday 25 September 2025 [12.42 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, this is a very simple and straightforward bill. I thank the Leader for Government Business for bringing it forward today. This bill will enable people who shared their experiences during the commission of inquiry in private sessions to help us better understand what happened, what went wrong and what we could do to ensure that no child or vulnerable person could ever be harmed under state care a

Wednesday 24 September 2025 [4.38 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the Leader for the briefings this morning. They were very informative. It is correct that I have often had a great interest in the board and the compilation. I have a reasonably short speech, given the comprehensive undertaking by the member for Murchison, which was really good and which I really appreciate, and by other members as well. I thank the Leader for bringing this forward.

Wednesday 24 September 2025 [3.04 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I thank the Leader for bringing forward this bill. I rise to offer a few remarks. As mentioned by the Leader, some of the legislative changes this bill makes have arisen out of the tragic circumstances faced by the Westbrook family. I acknowledge them, their efforts and the loss their family has suffered and continues to suffer. The passing of this bill into law, I hope, will improve the admin

Tuesday 23 September 2025 Voluntary Assisted Dying Online Portal [3.10 p.m.] Mr GAFFNEY (Mersey) - Mr President, I move - That: (1) The Legislative Council notes that a General Practitioner based on the Northwest Coast of Tasmania who has been involved in approximately 80 cases of Voluntary Assisted Dying under the provisions of the End-of-Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Act 2021 (the Act) has expressed concern about the lack of an electronic portal for t

Tuesday 23 September 2025 Ms FORREST (Murchison) - Mr President, I move - (1) That two Government Businesses Scrutiny Committees be established to inquire into Government Businesses in accordance with the schedule detailed below and rules as set out in the Standing Orders at Part 22. (2) That the Committees have leave to sit on Monday, 24 November 2025 and Tuesday, 25 November 2025 between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. or such other times as varied by the

Thursday 8 August 2025 [5.03 p.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I endorse the comments of the - I was going to say member for Rattray - member for McIntyre. Ms Rattray - That will do. Ms ARMITAGE - We need to check we are still on the register because sometimes people have thought - Ms Rattray - Oh, do you fall off? Ms ARMITAGE - I am not sure. The member for Murchison might be able to tell me. I thought a few years ago it changed. Yes, it is probably

Thursday 5 June 2025 [11.40 a.m.] Ms ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Mr President, I was not going to rise to speak, but having heard some of the contributions, I thought I would make a short contribution. I support the comments by the member for McIntyre in a manner. I have been to Ashley on a number of occasions and, as I think is well known here, I have been working with Tasmania Police, supporting our vulnerable youth for over 30 years, going into the police station when they ha