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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Tuesday, 22 June 2004) . . Page.. 2400 ..

There has also been no noticeable effect on the growth of the New South Wales economy and we have not seen businesses rushing out of New South Wales to find a more friendly OH&S regime elsewhere. The businesses that are threatening to cross the border will be crossing the border into an OH&S regime that is stricter than the one we are proposing here in the territory.

There have been a number of academic works published on the subject of access to workplaces by employee representatives for the purpose of workplace safety, including a number undertaken by the ANU’s National Research Centre for OHS Regulation. They cite evidence from Australian and international jurisdictions that demonstrates an improved safety environment in workplaces where there is greater union activity and access.

That being said, I wish to make it clear that I agree with businesses that the original provisions of this bill were unsatisfactory so, over the past few weeks, I have worked with government and other stakeholders to improve the legislation so that we can insert greater safeguards to prevent abuse of the right of entry provisions. I will be moving amendments to ensure that there is a disqualification mechanism, so that any authorised representatives who abuse the right of entry provisions may have their authorisation revoked. This reflects the current situation in New South Wales.

The government is also moving amendments to put greater safeguards on the authorisation process for registered organisations, and to clarify that any documents received by unions may not be used for purposes other than those laid out in this act. I think these amendments address many of the concerns raised by employers and will help to ensure that all parties will use the right of entry provisions fairly and sensibly.

In addition to disqualification provisions, as I have mentioned, I will be moving for a complete review of the legislation after three years of operation, so that the Assembly has the opportunity to identify any shortcomings of the legislation and respond accordingly. The Democrats have taken the position with this bill that we will work to find the best outcome. We have been quite disappointed that some people have taken a very negative approach to this bill and have not been willing to consider amendments to address the concerns that have been raised.

I believe that the majority of concerns that were raised by business are being addressed by the amendments that we are moving and I encourage businesses to look at what we are doing here tonight and see it in the spirit in which it is intended. We are working to address their concerns while maintaining a rigorous OH&S regime.

The minister has indicated that there will be an education campaign over the next six months to ensure that the provisions in this bill are understood fully by businesses and that there is a chance to work through the bill’s operation with businesses and unions. Through the Deputy Speaker, Minister, I encourage you to ensure that the micro and small business council is included in this process, because they have raised specific concerns that they were not consulted in the development stages of this bill and I think that is something that needs to be addressed.

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