Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 370 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Speaker, that minimum standard was one that was to apply across the country, and, as I have said, there is a recognition that State and Territory governments will be able to prescribe other holidays if they so desire. As I mentioned earlier, there has also been an appeal in relation to the public holidays issues.

Mr Humphries: Yes, it is sub judice.

MR BERRY: No, the appeal matter has been resolved, Mr Humphries. The court said:

The public holidays test case set a national safety net standard which should appropriately be adopted in the award. The setting of that standard does not entail a judgment that no extra generally observed holidays or public holidays be available. But it is based on a conclusion that the setting of such extra public holidays should be a matter within the autonomy of either the relevant State Government -

which we make the rules about -

or of the parties by agreement.

That is why we need this Bill. We need to provide legislation to protect the rights of workers, who now have their conditions threatened by the friends of this Government.

Mrs Carnell: It does not matter about small business; it does not matter about jobs; just the union picnic day matters - great!

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell interjects again, "It does not matter about small business". Every time small business gets into trouble, people like Mrs Carnell and her conservative colleagues want to attack wages and working conditions. What you have to do is go back to the cause. The first cause: Kate Carnell. She was the one who started the downhill slide in the ACT. Second cause: John Howard. He fixed us right up.

In the ACT we also have Canberra Day, Bank Holiday for the finance sector, an extra holiday for public sector workers in the Christmas-New Year period, and, until the recent move by the Confederation of ACT Industry, the union picnic day. In other words, 12 public holidays for all sectors was the standard in the ACT.

Mr Whitecross: Mrs Carnell wants to get rid of the public service holiday too.

MR BERRY: That is her next step. The effect of the confederation's move is to remove one public holiday from one sector of the ACT work force.

The first workers who have come under attack are mostly females. How is this, Mrs Carnell, from a government that pretends it defends the wages and working conditions and rights of people who might be disadvantaged? The first workers who have come under attack are mostly females. They include the retail and wholesale industry, 89 per cent female; hairdressing, 75 per cent female; child-care industry, 99 per cent female; catering, cafes and restaurants, 70 per cent female; community services, 95 per cent female; community and aged care, 80 per cent female; parking stations,

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .