Page 16 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
There will, of course, be a point where an employment decision will have to be made and the views of the employee concerned simply cannot be responded to. However, there is a general obligation to ensure procedural fairness, and particularly that the fair hearing rule is applied, and that individuals do have the opportunity to participate in the process.
I note that the revised explanatory statement issued by the Chief Minister clarifies some of the requirements and expectations that are being placed on decision makers when exercising these powers. Our view is that it would be preferable to have this included in the act itself, but I accept that the ultimate result will be the same for officers of the public service.
Having put those concerns, I would like to reiterate the Greens’ support for the bill and the very positive initiatives that it contains.
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Land and Property Services, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage) (10.45), in reply: The purpose of this bill is to make changes to the Public Sector Management Act 1994 that will improve the management and responsiveness of the ACT public service.
Together with new enterprise agreements and amendments to the public sector management standards, the bill will be a first step in delivering a simpler, more consistent and coherent legislative employment framework for the ACT public service.
The bill makes a number of core changes to address the placement of particular entitlements, moving these from the act to the standards and/or into industrial agreements. This movement of entitlements from the act to other layers of the employment framework provides the public service with the opportunity and ability to respond to changes in the industrial relations arena and other relevant commonwealth legislation in a more timely and efficient manner.
Importantly, the bill gives effect to amendments aimed at improving the representation within our service of persons with a disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.
These amendments are directly linked to this government’s intentions to build a stronger and better public service—a public service grounded in sensible employment arrangements and practices. These arrangements will enable us to attract and retain a workforce which is representative of our diverse community and practices and support the principles of a fair and respectful public service.
Last December I launched the ACT public service’s respect, equity and diversity framework. The framework envisages specific employment strategies for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with a disability. While work on these strategies is well underway, we have not waited to act where we can. In fact, through 2010 and into 2011 we have conducted a whole-of-government pilot traineeship program for people with intellectual disabilities with a cohort of nine
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video