Page 327 - Week 01 - Thursday, 18 February 1993
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(6) Has the Minister sought advice on (a) the validity of the Award given
that the District Officer enrolled in the FFU on 14 May 1975 so that
proceedings could commence before the Commission was not eligible
to be a member of the FFU; (b) how ACT Fire Brigade and its
employees could be covered by an Award of the Commission as it was
not covered by the INDUSTRY rule of the FFU; (c) how the Award
could have been made validly under the provisions of the Conciliation
and Arbitration Act as neither the District Officer enrolled in 1975 nor
the other employees of the ACT Fire Brigade were eligible to be
members of the FFU until 21 August 1985 (R No. 17 of 1985); and
(d) how the Minister, who was not even the employer at the time could
be a party to the Award in 1975 as the ACT Fire Brigade was not
covered by the INDUSTRY rule of the FFU until the 21 August 1985
(R No. 16 of 1985), if so, what was the advice received on each case;
if not, does he propose to seek advice and take further action in relation
to each of these matters. -
(7) Has the Minister requested from the Canberra Civil Branch of the FFU a copy of the legal opinion provided by M Moore, barrister, in July 1981; if not, will he make such a request now.
(8) Why were all these important issues raised with the Minister not answered in his letter to Mr I Buchanan of 12 November 1992.
(9) Has the Minister sought advice on whether the ACT Fire Brigade Employees (ACT) Award could have been validly made under the provisions of the Conciliation and Arbitration in 1975 given that the answers given in the Senate on 31 May 1988 to which the Minister refers in his letter of 12 November 1992 relate to actions which have been shown to be contrary to law as neither the District Officer or the ACT Fire Brigade were covered by the rules of the Union. If so, what was the advice; if not, does he propose to seek advice on the matter.
MR CONNOLLY - The answer to the Members question is as follows:
In 1975 I was a high school student in Adelaide and not responsible for actions taken at that time.
As I indicated to Mr Buchanan in my letter of 12 November 1992 to which the Members question refers, the substance of Mr Buchanans concerns about allegations relating to the ACT Fire Brigade has been answered in response to questions raised in the Senate on 31 May 1988. A copy of the questions and answers was provided to Mr Buchanan.
Consistent with my response to Mr Buchanan, the matters raised occurred well before the time of self Government in the Territory and appear to have been covered adequately by Commonwealth Ministers.
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