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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 4287 ..

MRS BURKE (continuing):

I put it to Mr Hargreaves that maybe, just maybe, people do not want full-time employment, as in the specific case of students, carers, single mothers, fathers and the like. What gives Mr Hargreaves the grounds to say that people working on a casual basis may be deprived of their basic entitlements of award and enterprise minimum remuneration, leave entitlements and superannuation? If Mr Hargreaves knows of such personal examples, he should be advising organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has jurisdiction over some 100 awards in the ACT.

Mr Hargreaves should also note that some employees currently negotiating Australian workplace agreements are in fact asking for an all-encompassing arrangement. And why? Maybe it gives employees more flexibility to do what they want to do with their money. A fair call I would say, but of course maybe Mr Hargreaves does not think we live in a democracy.

People have every right to make choices in life. They are also protected under the no disadvantage test-and I am sure that Ms Gallagher will know all about this one. The Office of the Employment Advocate ensures this process under the no disadvantage rule. The Industrial Relations Commission is also there as a guiding hand to people if they feel they are being hard done by. There are many avenues if people do not feel that they are being appropriately and correctly rewarded. Casual workers are covered by statutory protection. If they are not being treated this way, business organisations would like to know about it.

I am also a little mystified by Mr Hargreaves making these comments, given that under most, if not all, awards casual workers are compensated for the entitlements mentioned, in varying percentages from 20 per cent to 50 per cent. I think again that Mr Hargreaves' suggestion that casual workers may also fall on the blind side of statutory protection such as OH&S, job training and career development is quite a scaremongering comment.

In fact, it is my experience in my many years of employing people that casual workers need to be as well trained as, if not more than, full-time workers. They are often people who are able to demonstrate a greater flexibility and dexterity when fitting into a working environment. Indeed, many casual workers hold down more than one casual position in more than one organisation or industry-again as a matter of choice. They prefer to work for several employers.

Mr Hargreaves seems to present a strange contradiction to his previous points when he acknowledges that for some employees there may be some benefits of working casually. Indeed, a good example given to me by a local business organisation is the video industry, a good example of an industry offering casual employment to students and to mothers and fathers balancing home duties and work. Again, let us not forget that many people want a career-lifestyle balance and that is why many choose casual employment. I think Mr Hargreaves is really talking about a minority when he says that people are not being cared for. If that is the case, we need to raise it with appropriate bodies and authorities.

It is interesting to note paragraph (4) of Mr Hargreaves' motion. In fact, most, if not all, business organisations in this town make it their business to educate employers of their

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