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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2287 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

and it is very sensible. It is called industrial democracy, and I would have thought every member in this chamber supported that notion. It is better for management. It brings a stronger enterprise, which is what all the Government's rhetoric is about; it provides for better industrial relations; and it will provide for a better service for ACTTAB.

Mr Speaker, these amendments come at an appropriate time. I understand that one of the members of the ACTTAB Board has necessarily resigned as this moves to a TOC, to a corporation, and that would have been inappropriate. So the provisions allow for five members and at present there are four members. There is a vacancy. The vacancy is there, so let us fill that vacancy.

Mrs Carnell: No, it is not.

MR WOOD: That is my understanding. There is no doubt about that. There is a vacancy. There are four members. Just check, please. We have people at first-hand who can tell us, but my understanding is that there is a vacancy, or there is about to be a vacancy, so there is no difficulty in proceeding with this. This would indicate to the people in ACTTAB that their services are respected. It would indicate to the ACT community that the Government respects the principles of industrial democracy and is taking positive actions to see that they are implemented. In particular, I want to emphasise the point that Mr De Domenico made - that this would see a person of high calibre added to that board.

Mr Speaker, there is one provision there that is not usually attached to amendments and that is that the first appointment of the staff representative has been named following a process within the union concerned. It is not usual, but it is entirely proper, and it has been written into the amendment here and can readily be accepted. Thereafter, the very extensive procedure that is shown in the 14 pages of the amendments will come into effect as the workers in ACTTAB proceed in the way designed to elect their worker representative. Mr Speaker, this is important. We acknowledge that. It is a principle that is now widely accepted. It will be a distinct benefit to ACTTAB, and I believe that this house should support the amendments.

MR MOORE (12.57): They are indeed a complicated set of amendments. In fact, I think this one must score the prize, in the time that I have been in the Assembly, for doing what appears to be a simple task, to put a staff member onto the board. A simple task turns out to require 15 or 20 pages, or something of that order, of amendments.

Mr Speaker, when I was originally approached to support the concept of what Mr Wood has put up as amendments I was quite taken by the idea. I thought it was a very sensible idea. Since that time, Mr Speaker, I have oscillated in my view of what is the best possible way. On the positive side, as Mr Wood has put it, it is about industrial democracy; it is about ensuring that people who work in an area share in that area. In the end, Mr Speaker, I have come down on the side of voting against these particular amendments. There is a series of reasons for that, but I must say that it is a decision that is made on balance.

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