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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 539 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

Because of the general treatment of workers in Canberra there is a benefit. I have been to those picnics, and they are good days; they are very well supported and produce a cohesion, a harmony and a thrust that are of considerable benefit to the employers. It has been my experience that the employers recognise that. Certainly, many of those employers contribute to the day.

Let me go back to another matter - my own experience, not long ago, as Minister. A great deal of my time was taken up in discussion with workers as they set about to improve their work practices. They acknowledged that they had a responsibility. As Minister, I shared that responsibility, which is something this Government is not doing. I was very impressed by the way workers got together, because they are in a good position to know and to work through a whole range of issues, and, as a result, produced a positive benefit to the ACT. The workers in Canberra, as throughout Australia in recent times, have redoubled their efforts, and they have done that for the nation. I do not think there is a more responsible group in the community. It was the Federal Labor Government - going back now quite a few years - which paid special attention to work practices, spoke to unions, worked with unions and got the response that brought very significant changes to the way that this nation works. The unions responded admirably.

In fact, if we look at some of the outcomes, there are people now saying that this has not helped the Labor Party because we have lost some of that blue-collar support. I do not know about that, but there are some suggestions of that. Time and time again, in our community the blue-collar workers have supported governments, the economy and moves to get things working well in this nation. We see this sort of response from one government today. I might say that not all sections of the community have responded in such an admirable way. What about some of the high-fliers in this community, in Australia generally, who have expanded their salaries extraordinarily? I think sometimes the contribution is rather one-sided. It is certainly one-sided in this debate today.

Let us go back to one of the poor but consistent arguments this Government has used to try to justify opposition to Mr Berry's Bill. It featured in their first and subsequent media statements: "The umpire has decided". It featured in this debate today. It has been made perfectly clear in commissions that it is for the legislatures to determine what should happen.

Mr Humphries: They did not say that; they said "the governments".

MR WOOD: Well, governments. This Government does what this legislature determines, Mr Humphries, and you know that. Time and time again you have been told that. You might not like it, but that is the fact of life. It is for this Assembly to determine what holidays there will be in Canberra; it is as simple as that. The umpire will apply the rules. They have looked at the awards and they have come back with a decision. Maybe there is a glitch there, but we now have a correction to the rules that apply. It is for this Assembly to determine what those rules will be. Do not come here with nonsensical arguments like, "The umpire has decided". We are the ones who decide. They arbitrate in disputes, but we lay down the laws. This Bill of Mr Berry's today is a correction.

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