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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 3 Hansard (27 May) . . Page.. 610 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Let us talk about the people who are not affected by this. Just about everyone else is not affected. Other departments are not affected. Departmental heads are not affected. Interestingly enough, I note from the Australian Capital Territory Gazette of 29 April 1998 that the Canberra Institute of Technology does not do it either. In fact, they have a contract with the Australian Federal Police for $4,000. They pay for the character checks. They do not pass the cost on to their prospective employees. Police do not have to pay for their own character checks. Nobody else pays for them. This payment is imposed on potential workers, but not all workers, only the most vulnerable - casual and relief workers.

It is quite normal that employers pay the costs of employment. I heard it said somewhere that the employers have a duty of care. All employers have a duty of care for their employees, but it is not the norm to pass on the administrative charges for employing somebody.

Mr Humphries: It is in Education.

MR BERRY: Mr Humphries interjects, "It is in Education". I said that it is not the norm for an administrative fee to be passed on to prospective employees, and that is the case, Mr Humphries. If you think it is the norm, that might suit your Vanstone-trained ideology, but it does not suit mine.

This is a charge which is not socially just and which impacts on the poorest in the community, but the Liberals would not understand that. The emotive argument that is whipped up each time is that these people are dealing with children; therefore, they should pay their own administrative charges and for their own police check. For heaven's sake, how many other workers in the community deal with children? Should they be paying for their own police checks? For example, should doctors and nurses in our hospitals be paying for their own police checks? Should community service workers be paying for their own police checks? Should policemen be paying for their own police checks? This is a joke. If this so-called administrative charge gathers momentum, it will apply to everybody in respect of all administrative costs. It is an unfair charge which impacts on the people who can least afford it. The Liberals opposite would not care about that. These are not employed people who are organised in unions and can defend themselves. These are people who are out of work.

Mr Humphries: Not necessarily, Wayne.

MR BERRY: These are people who are out of work and looking for temporary positions, in the main. Mr Humphries interjects again, "Not necessarily". Administrative service officers class 2, administrative service officers class 3 and administrative service officers class 4 in temporary positions cannot be described as well-off people in the community, and he knows it. For him to say or imply otherwise just shows how class structured his position is.

The fact of the matter is that the Government spends hundreds of thousands of dollars recruiting senior executives and senior staff throughout its area of employment. It might spend as much as $30,000 recruiting one senior executive. Does it ask the senior executive to pay the $30,000? No. It asks the ordinary taxpayers to pay that,

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