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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4217 ..

MS MacDONALD (continuing):

make sure that we have equality between all industries. Of course, not all workers are entitled to this portable leave and there are varying timeframes for the application of portable long service leave in those industries where it exists.

There you have it. This motion is not about a revolutionary change, as some on the other side and those not interested in providing equal working opportunities would suggest. But it is, in fact, about evolutionary change. In the modern dynamic marketplace, changes to long service leave in the ACT will become the foundation of a better and more desirable Canberra economy and community. I hope that as a result of my motion today we will see a further evolution. I hope that we will see the ACT develop a long service leave framework which will make the territory an employer of choice.

We know that wages were let run down by the previous Liberal government in the local public service-quite drastically, I should say. We know that the relatively small ACT work force is rarely able to keep with the high dollar, high benefit, highly competitive markets in Sydney or Melbourne. What we need then is a framework in the ACT that will make workers want to come here, want to work here and want to stay here for a prolonged period.

A uniform and fair portable long service leave system is one very powerful way we can achieve that ideal. Canberra has a highly transient work force and population, despite the inability to compete with Sydney and Melbourne, and that is something that is widely accepted. However, with every move out of Canberra, corporate knowledge is lost and a commitment to the territory as a home is replaced by a desire to chase better financial security and employment conditions.

Portable long service leave in the ACT would be a great incentive for people to stay in Canberra and work in Canberra. It would be an incentive to develop knowledge and skills and contribute to the local economy for a long time. By becoming a worker of the territory and being rewarded for long service to the Canberra economy, community and employers, workers would be offered an entitlement that would be a great incentive to them to want to contribute and stay in the ACT.

The ACT is in a unique situation. With a relatively small geography, population and work force, portable long service leave and the addressing of disparities could be handled with relative ease. We have a single jurisdiction with no other local government areas and no competing regions, as occurs in other states around Australia. A brief comparison of long service leave entitlements around Australia will indicate that the ACT is not on its own, with inequities and disparities evident elsewhere. We cannot directly affect the situations and arrangements elsewhere. However, we can provide a shining example in progressive, practical and affordable entitlements.

Taking a look at the different jurisdictions, workers in Victoria and Western Australia receive 13 weeks long service leave after 15 years and a pro rata benefit only after 10 years. However, Tasmania provides 13 weeks leave after 15 years and a pro rata benefit after seven years and South Australia provides 13 weeks leave after 10 years and a pro rata benefit after seven years, as with the Northern Territory. Queensland, the ACT and New South Wales provide 8.67 weeks leave after 10 years. That was done by basing the original calculation on 15 years of service, with a pro rata benefit for the ACT and Queensland after seven years and for New South Wales after five years.

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