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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 1110 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

The department expressed concern that the bill allows for discretion on the part of WorkCover inspectors. I have explained that. I do not need to go any further on that. (Extension of time granted.) I do not propose any amendments in respect of that. It is a nonsense argument and should not be contemplated.

In relation to section 27 of the act, "Duties of employers in relation to employees", section 28, "Duty of employers in relation to third parties", and section 29, "Duties of persons in control of workplaces", I propose to enter a reference to section 34. Section 34 of the act as it now stands is entitled "Duties of persons erecting or installing plant in a workplace". It was drawn to my attention that section 34 did not make the same references as other parts of the legislation did in relation to the performance of employers and third parties. For the sake of standardisation or consistency, I intend to include in section 34 the standard provision:

This is the same approach as I have taken in relation to sections 27, 28 and 29. I thank departmental officers for drawing that to my attention. That will be a useful addition to the legislation.

The department raised questions about perceived ambiguity in the drafting in relation to the codes of practice as guidance for persons in control of workplaces, section 87. Mr Speaker, you will find amongst the amendments which have been circulated to the members an amendment to section 87 to accommodate that difficulty.

I have also included a new section 75 amongst those amendments to ensure no ambiguity can arise in relation to the definition of an infringement notice. This amendment clarifies which acts are affected-namely, those acts which come under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It clarifies that issue.

The scrutiny of bills committee looked at this legislation and recommended a change to proposed new section 75K. An amendment has been drafted to fix that problem. It is amongst the amendments which have been circulated.

The department raised a concern that the bill might operate to prevent a prosecution under the act, and there are also issues about allowing sufficient time for gathering evidence. Mr Smyth raised this in his contribution to the debate earlier. I have had amendments drafted to proposed new section 75J to overcome these problems. All of the problems have been fixed.

Consultation with unions raised the differences in the effect of the bill in relation to public and private sector employers, because there was not any provision to issue notices to public sector employers. To ensure that public sector employers are held accountable for poor occupational health and safety practices, I have had an amendment drafted to require the commission to report to the Assembly any breaches by ACT public sector employers.

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