Page 2774 - Week 09 - Thursday, 25 August 1994
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strengthened if consensus continues to be achieved regarding the provisions of the Bill that are still under discussion.
Madam Speaker, I would now like to turn to the concept of mediation, and its application to the hearing of disputes, as it is currently embodied in the Bill.
I applaud the governments intent that disputes be attempted to be resolved in a consultative manner, rather than in an adversarial environment. Concern has been expressed to me, however, that, in the Bill, mediation is being used as an adjunct to litigation, rather than as a primary means of dispute resolution.
The Bill allows the Registrar to undertake informal, preliminary mediation, if he or she sees it as appropriate, before taking further action. If this is unsuccessful, and the Registrar is satisfied that a dispute exists, then the Registrar may refer the dispute to an approved mediator or, alternatively, hear the dispute himself or herself.
It has been suggested to me that, when mediation does occur, the outcomes would be the same whether mediation occurs straight away or later
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