Page 2386 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 August 2017
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(b) ACT Labor Government to utilise existing resources of WorkSafe ACT to deliver information about workplace safety rights and responsibilities to students attending ACT government schools;
(c) ACT Labor Government to ensure that WorkSafe ACT is the primary provider of any workplace safety learning program commencing immediately; and
(d) ACT Education Directorate to immediately establish guidelines for external organisations and individuals presenting to students in ACT government schools.
I am very pleased to bring on this motion today. In part this motion gives me the opportunity to set the record straight in the wake of what many have described as a campaign designed to intimidate a member of parliament, orchestrated by UnionsACT. This motion is very straightforward: it seeks to take the politics out of our schools whilst continuing to ensure that workplace safety information is effectively and appropriately relayed to young people upon entering the workforce—young people who may already have casual work either on a weekend or after school, young people about to enter the workforce full time and young people looking to participate in work experience placements. It is incredibly important that our young people are informed about their rights and responsibilities in a workplace. This is a fact and something I wholeheartedly support. It is completely correct that the Education Directorate incorporate this into the ACT government school curriculum as a required program.
I will say it again: at no time have I ever sought to compromise workplace safety or diminish the importance of every individual’s right to work in a safe environment—not once, not ever. What I take issue with is the fact that currently this kind of information is being delivered by a highly politically motivated union movement and, worse, that this has been the case for over a decade. To add insult to injury, the minister for education completely failed to answer questions about the appropriateness of third-party organisations recruiting in ACT government schools when asked about this during the estimates hearings. It was not just unions recruiting in schools but any third-party, membership-based organisation. The fact there was an unwillingness on the minister’s part to answer whether or not that is appropriate, let alone the fact that no guidelines are in place, reeks of the potential issue that exists in so many schools.
Most in this place know my story—like many in this place I am fairly new to politics. In fact, my background leans towards completely the opposite direction. I have been in the workforce since I was 15. In my very first job, working at McDonald’s, I was, amongst other things, on the work, health and safety committee. I have worked in various hospitality jobs as well as being an apprentice in the construction industry. Through that I have seen my fair share of job sites. For anyone to accuse me of not supporting and not believing in workplace safety laws is very short sighted. They should put themselves in the situation I unfortunately found myself in, where one of my very close friends and colleagues at work rang me one day whilst lying on the
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