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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2078 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I suspect that the Minister responsible was Mr Berry. I think it was Mr Berry. The previous Labor Government had done nothing - that probably means Mr Berry had done nothing - absolutely nothing, to tackle one of the biggest problems facing management of our public sector and our 20,000 employees. The fascinating thing is that this was from a party - and Mr Berry - that claims to care about workers.

Mr Berry: I was the chair of the committee that gave you all the ideas.

Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Berry obviously does not like the fact that this question has been asked, but he cannot help that fact. I ask that he not interject during the Chief Minister's remarks, as is his wont during these occasions.

MR SPEAKER: I uphold that point of order.

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much. To give you some idea of the problem, in 1995-96 the premium charged by Comcare amounted to a massive 5.2 per cent of the payroll, or a staggering $34.2m. Not only were the premiums out of control; what was worse was that there were no plans or even a strategy in place to get people back to doing meaningful work or to resolve the hundreds of outstanding claims. With Mr Berry at the helm - you know, Mr Speaker, the worker's friend; we all know that, as Mr Berry says it a lot - Labor put this problem in the too-hard basket because he could not, or maybe would not, face up to the problem. Why, Mr Speaker? I think it was because Mr Berry had absolutely no idea what to do. Fortunately for the taxpayers and for all of those public servants, this was yet another problem that we inherited and that we tackled head-on.

One of the first steps that we undertook as a government was to establish a small task force based within the Chief Minister's Department and with responsibility for developing a service-wide strategy. We ensured that there was not only a more strategic focus on injury prevention in the workplace but also plans for managing injured employees. One example was the introduction of special lifting devices in our hospital wards to reduce the risk and frequency of back injuries - a purchase that we were happy to fund because we recognised the long-term benefits of this equipment for staff health and safety. We developed a closer relationship with Comcare, to ensure that many more outstanding claims, particularly those of more than 45 weeks' duration - yes, Mr Speaker, 45 weeks' duration, and Mr Berry did nothing - were managed to resolution or that appropriate return to work plans were implemented.

What has happened to the workers compensation premium under this Government, Mr Speaker? In 1996-97 we managed a small decrease in the premium rate from 5.2 to 4.96 per cent, which translated into a saving of about $700,000 over the previous year. I am delighted now, though, to advise the Assembly that in 1997-98 the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission has approved the ACT's premium rate at only 3 per cent. This amounts to a saving of over $12m in the coming financial year. That is an enormous saving, Mr Speaker. The premium is a reflection of a continuing reduction in both the number of claims made and the duration of those claims. Put simply, it is a true indicator of this Government's excellent record in managing workers compensation.

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