Page 3451 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 19 September 1990
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clear that he was prepared to let the general duty of care provision, which has led to the death and injury of thousands of workers in this country, stay in place forever. If Mr Stefaniak's attitude to occupational health and safety legislation in the past is any indication, that will be the case.
Mr Speaker, the Government tends to rely on the setting up of the Industrial Relations Advisory Council as the measure of what might happen in the future. The fact of the matter is that the Industrial Relations Advisory Council has no power at all. It is only an advisory council to the Government. The Government is dominated by the A, B and C teams of the Liberal Party and the fact of the matter is that the Liberal philosophy will flow through into the delivery of health and safety in the workplace. In other words, the economic position of employers in the Territory will be considered before the safety of workers in the workplace.
Mr Kaine also mentioned the construction industry and how much good work was going on there. But what he failed to say was that the employees of 95 per cent of employers are not covered by this legislation. The employees of 95 per cent of the employers will not be provided with designated work groups for their protection. This Government is not concerned about the protection of workers; it is more concerned about economic benefits, and you have demonstrated that in your speech.
Mr Kaine: Why do not you get off your ideological horse and start talking some horse sense?
MR BERRY: It would be nice if, for once, we could have a bunch of Government members who could sit there and just take the medicine. They just cannot take it. The fact is that you are prepared to cop a situation where the workers of the Territory continue to be at risk because you failed to provide adequate measures for their protection - that is, employees of 95 per cent of employers will not be provided with adequate protection in the workplace.
This Government is more interested in preventing the recurrence of death and injury - the emphasis is quite wrong - rather than trying to introduce measures to prevent them ever happening. That is what the designated work groups would provide in the workplace and that is why the Labor Party has moved to amend this legislation to ensure that an increased number of employers will have their employees provided with further protection.
Inevitably, when Labor wins the next election, all employers will be covered because all employees will be provided with this sort of protection. It is our intention to ensure that that will occur. While this Government talks about the provision of occupational health and safety, we see no increase in the provision of funding for the establishment of proper occupational health and safety
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