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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (11 May) . . Page.. 1449 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

particularly if your employer has a philosophy which is opposed to annual leave and has a philosophy which is committed to the employer's generosity, which we know has been great in the past for some employers but appalling for many.

You might say, "So what? This only applies to staff of members of the Legislative Assembly." Do you think, once this step is taken, that there will not be attempts to put these sorts of provisions in other workplaces throughout the ACT government? Do you think that other employers around this country will not see this sort of provision and say, "Look, they have done it in the ACT Legislative Assembly and it is working there." Do you think that people will not notice this? Of course they will notice it.

What will happen is that workers will be encouraged to take cash instead of annual leave. As enterprise bargaining arrangements go on, pretty soon we will see annual leave disappear, and we will see the cash disappear as well. This important provision, which provides relief for workers and their families and all around them, will disappear. This is an appalling provision. It is an ideological provision which has been included in these provisions for Legislative Assembly members and members of the executive.

Members should encourage their staff to take leave because we would like to see them bright and bushy-tailed occasionally instead of dragging their tails. This is important work that we are doing here and annual leave becomes a fundamental part of rest and relief from the arduous conditions which employees have to suffer.

We cannot allow this sort of precedent to start in this Assembly. We have already seen pressures in various employment areas throughout Australia to reduce wages and working conditions. One of those fundamentals that have been built up since the great depression should not be attacked in this way. We need to adopt a standard here which is reasonable and which is fair for ordinary working people. We need to say to the working people of the ACT that annual leave is sacrosanct. It is part of the industrial landscape. It is part of the social landscape and it should not be interfered with.

Do not give us any of that business about choice and it not being compulsory. Choice soon becomes compulsion, and compulsion will lead to the end of this important condition. Mr Speaker, I will leave it there for the moment.

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (12.22): Mr Berry said that he thought there would be talk about ideology on this side of the house. We just heard some ideology, there is no doubt at all.

Mr Berry: My word. I have got ideology on these issues.

MS CARNELL: That is right, a straight ideological approach.

Mr Berry: I have got ideals. Look after workers.

Mr Moore: And you shouldn't be embarrassed about it.

MS CARNELL: No. That's fine.

MR SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has the call, please.

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