Page 1204 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 11 May 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
enterprise bargaining process. The difficulties that emerged in Brisbane and that were given some coverage by the media were about the means to achieve common objectives, not about the direction being taken. The consultation processes have begun. The ACT Government will continue to participate to develop a nationally coordinated approach that will take Australia in the direction in which it needs to go. We need to enhance competitiveness while continuing low inflation rates, so that sustainable employment growth may be achieved and the distressing level of unemployment reduced.
As regards occupational health and safety, Madam Speaker, the labour Ministers renewed their commitment to achieving uniformity through the implementation in a consistent manner by States and Territories of common essential requirements established in national standards. They agreed to adopt those standards when declared by the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Are you listening, Mr De Domenico? There is a double value to the ACT from this commitment. Until self-government the area of occupational health and safety had been woefully neglected in the ACT. The first Follett Government took immediate steps to remedy this lack. Although the ACT Occupational Health and Safety Council, supported by the ACT Health and Safety Office, has done good work in the short time they have been established, the adoption of modern and national occupational health and safety standards will enable them to move quickly to cover a wide range of hazards to which ACT workers are exposed. The other benefit is that national uniformity will ensure best practice in occupational health and safety performance across the jurisdictions, and ensure a harmonised approach between the rights and obligations of ACT employers and workers and those across the border and throughout Australia. Our framework in the ACT, Madam Speaker, is a framework which has been developed against a labour background and one which has been finetuned to deliver the goods for ACT workers as quickly as possible.
Another topic on which there was gratifying consensus as regards the need to move to greater national consistency was workers compensation. The Federal Minister assured the conference that the Commonwealth would not take precipitate action to extend its coverage into areas traditionally covered by State and Territory workers compensation schemes. Assembly members will be aware that the Industry Commission is currently conducting an inquiry into workers compensation, and Mr Brereton said that the Commonwealth will await the final report of the Industry Commission. There will then be consultation with State and Territory governments on the findings and recommendations contained in that report. This will be a matter that will be discussed at a future Ministers for Labour Conference, probably next year, but against the background of general endorsement of movement towards national consistency and harmonisation of workers compensation systems.
The topics of wages policy, the industrial relations framework, occupational health and safety and workers compensation took most of the time at the meeting and, as Assembly members will have appreciated, substantial progress is being made to improve Australia's performance in each of these areas. Furthermore, this is being done in a way that recognises the shared responsibility of the Federal, State and Territory governments. The ACT Government, and I as Minister for Industrial Relations, will continue to play a strong part in progressing these matters, so crucial to our economic and social policy objectives, towards the shared goals. In stark contrast to our political opponents, the path of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .