Page 2223 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 31 October 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
of this legislation have come through the numbers have increased.
We come almost at the end of the process in Australia and we go against the trend of the experience of other states and we reduce the number to 10. We believe that imposed an oppressive burden on business which with 11 and 12 employees are capable of talking to their employees without the structures imposed within this Bill and we are operating within the environment of New South Wales.
Whenever there are revenue measures we are told the reason we have got to pay additional revenue is because we need to be consistent with New South Wales. When we get to a matter like this we are wondering where the consistency with New South Wales comes about, why is industry in the Territory required to go through those structured arrangements, as against obligations of health and safety, those structures consultative arrangements, with a work force as low as 11.
There were a number of written submissions also put in in relation to the size of the designated work group, all stating that it should be at least 20. They appeared in the CARD submission. The Southern Cross Club submission, the CONFACT submission and the Master Builders Housing and Construction Industry Association's submission all say that the minimum work group in the ACT should be 20.
I reiterate that we are an island within New South Wales. Now that this Assembly has deemed that involved unions are going to remain in this legislation, the necessity for the efficient running of business in the Territory makes it more important than ever that the designated work group be at least 20. Accordingly, I commend this recommendation and this amendment to the Assembly.
MR WOOD (4.33): May I put into the record again the view of something like 57 unions and 50,000 members who consolidated all their various views into one report, that 10 is a reasonable number. Indeed, I think those groups would have preferred that no particular number be referred to but were accepting a compromise to make it 10. Even with that number of 10, something like 87 per cent of private sector employees in this town, that is almost all the private sector employees, will not be covered. So the provisions in this Bill are indeed moderate and modest, and let us remember that.
Another point to remember is that all these procedures in what looks like a fairly complex Bill are designed to produce a relatively informal structure. It is not proposed to establish some sort of mammoth bureaucracy or even a minor bureaucracy. It is proposed to establish at local level an informal and workable system. The proposed
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .