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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 368 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

The Bill sets out to safeguard that longstanding holiday for workers in the private sector in the ACT. It has become necessary because some employers are opportunistic enough to jump at any opportunity to reduce workers' conditions, regardless of the impact of their actions. They just do not care.

Mrs Carnell: It is tragic.

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell interjects, "It is tragic". It is tragic when workers' wages and conditions are taken away from them. They are not things that were just handed over because employers like giving things away. Usually these things have been struggled for. The Holidays (Amendment) Bill 1997 seeks to add the union picnic day to the list of holidays prescribed in the Holidays Act. Holidays in the ACT are recognised either in industrial awards or in the Holidays Act, or both. In most cases, they are in both. A significant exception to the norm is union picnic day. In the past, it has been found only in awards.

The history of union picnic day is an interesting one. For 58 years we have had a single union picnic day in the ACT, which arose because of a decision in 1938 to coordinate the various union picnics into a general function organised by the Trades and Labour Council of the ACT. So, for 58 years that has applied. There were a couple of years during the Second World War when the picnic did not occur, for very obvious reasons. The principle has not changed, with an admission ticket being purchased and no other costs being incurred by attendees, no matter what the size of the family. So, on the one hand, it was subsidised by single people, but large families were able to enjoy a good value day out. It was well recognised as a family day where workers and their families could get together and enjoy entertainment, food and the company of other workers. For the last three years, the ticket cost has been $20 for the whole family for the day, and I think that is excellent value for money. Anybody who has taken their kids to the show would testify that $20 for the whole day is not bad value.

This Bill is necessary because late last year there was an application made by the Confederation of ACT Industry which sought to strike out the union picnic day from a range of awards in the wake of earlier decisions of the Industrial Relations Commission relating to public holidays. This followed an attempt by the Victorian Liberal Government to remove a range of holidays from Victorian workers. It was an ideologically driven attack on conditions that started this whole process off.

Mrs Carnell: The Industrial Relations Commission?

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell interjects. You should do your research a bit better, Mrs Carnell, before you issue brazenly inaccurate press releases like that. Had you studied the Industrial Relations Commission decision on the matter, you would have discovered what the umpire actually said. Try doing your research before you give approval for these sorts of brazenly inaccurate press releases.

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