Page 5941 - Week 18 - Wednesday, 11 December 1991
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MR COLLAERY: Are you taking a point of order?
Mr Berry: Are you moving an amendment or what?
MR COLLAERY: I wish to move an amendment to proposed new paragraph 18(1)(a) of the Bill before the house; to delete the word "auditor" and substitute the word "accountant". I will give the house an example.
Mr Kaine: What is a registered accountant?
MR COLLAERY: An accountant registered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Collaery! You are out of order inasmuch as you are coming in after we have debated that part of the clause. You need to seek leave to move this amendment.
Mr Berry: I want to know what you are going to do.
MR COLLAERY: Well, I seek leave, and I will speak to why I seek leave.
Leave granted.
MR COLLAERY: I sought leave because, whilst I do not agree with Mrs Nolan trusting all employers to give just a statutory declaration on the issue, the fact is that even as a practising solicitor I do not employ a registered auditor for my workers' compensation returns each year. I use my accountant, who prepares all that from the wages book. We went through that with the Associations Incorporation Bill recently, where we made very clear the difference between a registered company auditor - and they cost the earth - and the use of an accountant.
I wonder whether the Government, in fact, has had that drawn to its attention. As the Attorney knows, we made a clear distinction in the Associations Incorporation Bill for those clubs that would have to use a company auditor. They are expensive propositions. Do not forget that under the new ASC audit guidelines those auditors have to go everywhere before they will give a certification.
Mr Connolly: This really is a bad way to go about law-making.
Mr Berry: We just cannot do this.
MR COLLAERY: Mr Speaker, the reason why I move the amendment at a late stage is that Mrs Nolan has just alerted me to this issue. I do happen to be a practitioner in the area who has had to give workers' compensation returns. Mr Berry should recognise it. We are pushing legislation through at a fair crack. You are getting a
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