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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2368 ..

Mr Kaine: Are you talking about a trade union?

Mrs Carnell: It is not a community organisation. If it is, the Catholic Church has to be the biggest one.

MR BERRY: This is an incorporated organisation and an umbrella group for a large number of organised unions in the ACT. The Trades and Labour Council is not a trade union, Mr Kaine. It is an umbrella group for unions in the ACT.

Mr Kaine: But they are not unionists.

MR BERRY: Indeed, they are. The Trades and Labour Council is an incorporated body.

Mr Kaine: It is not a community group. Call it what it is - a trade union organisation.

MR BERRY: It is an incorporated body. It is not registered under the Act.

Mr Kaine: You are trying to mislead the parliament.

MR BERRY: No. I am just trying to demonstrate my superior knowledge on this matter. It has taken a little while to sink in, I would say, without being too fat-headed about it.

Mr Humphries: We could not accuse you of that, Wayne.

MR BERRY: No. Good on you, mate. Mr Speaker, I urge members to support this amendment. Once it is voted on, I give notice that I will seek to amend paragraph 15(1)(c), which relates to the ability of a Minister to appoint no more than four members to the board, by increasing it to six.

Mr Speaker, I thank the Greens for their support on this issue. I urge other crossbench members to take into consideration the social justice impacts that a board like this Health and Community Care Service Board can have on the community. I note that this Health and Community Care Service Board has all the features of an economic rationalist grouping, which is interested only in proper management and not the social justice issues which face the community. I would ask the crossbench members to take into account the requirement to broaden the level of expertise in this board in order that the community can be better assisted in its deliberations. I say again that this is an unnecessary board; it is an unwelcome board, as far as the Labor Party is concerned; but it would be made somewhat more palatable if its social justice directions were more evident in the members who are appointed by the Minister under legislation.

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