Page 1442 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 26 September 1989
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has been the job of unions to secure that for workers and to work to improve working conditions not only throughout the Territory but throughout Australia as a whole. As a result of the changes that are proposed to the draft there would be inconsistencies between the legislation and the agreement that I have reached with the Trades and Labour Council in relation to consultative arrangements.
The select committee report on occupational health and safety legislation is being considered by the Government and the report will be debated in due course. The Government's objective is the introduction of a scheme that will have the broad support of the industrial partners and the sort of support that will be required to achieve the desired result of a safer and healthier workplace - not one where parties think that the middle ground is quite comfortable and safe. This is about the positive initiative genuinely to introduce occupational health and safety.
Implementation of the agreement is now at an advanced stage. The policy committee and all eight workplace committees are in full operation, involving the unions, of course. Virtually all management and union workplace representatives have now attended one of the three-day occupational health and safety courses conducted by Work Watch. A number of important occupational health and safety programs have been introduced, such as manual handling, a back care program, development of a chemical hazards register, workplace inspections to identify critical areas to bring workplace design up to minimum standards, a hearing conservation program incorporating sound level monitor and audiometric screening, and in-service education for the disposal of hospital wastes.
The policy committee has provided a very good forum for consultation with the Trades and Labour Council on the development of the departmental policies and procedures associated with the introduction of the Comcare legislation. Therefore, it is somewhat lamentable for me, in the wake of the committee's report, to see that further efforts have been taken to water down that report, and in fact to water down the legislation. In fact the report has achieved that, mostly through the involvement of the Residents' Rally party, and it is a great shame for a party which claims to have such deep roots in the community. By weakening that legislation, the claim as to deep roots may well be severed.
Mr Speaker, what I would like to say in closing is that I am extremely happy to be involved in the introduction of the occupation health and safety agreement. I am extremely happy with the way it is working and I hope that the members of this place will give due regard to the success of that agreement when they work to ensure that there is strong occupational health and safety legislation, not that which is being suggested in its watered down form as a result of the committee's inquiries into the matter.
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