Page 108 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 13 February 2019
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record. Canberra airport’s mean maximum temperature was 34.5 degrees centigrade, its warmest January, which meant the maximum temperature on record was 6.3 degrees centigrade above average and 1.7 degrees above the previous record which was set in 2017. The temperature exceeded 35 degrees centigrade on 19 days at Canberra airport, just over six times the January average. January set a new record for the number of consecutive days above 40 degrees, four consecutive days, and I think we all remember those four consecutive days.
Unfortunately, with climate change, under any believable scenario these kinds of temperatures will become, I would like to say, the new normal, but unfortunately that is not the case. The new normal is going to be worse than that.
One of the many climate change adaptation measures that we need to take is to ensure that we have appropriate working and heat policies to protect the health and wellbeing of workers, particularly those working outdoors or otherwise exposed to the heat. And this is an area where I think the ACT government can improve, including in its approach to contracting. Contractors should all have appropriate heat policies to protect their workers. I was troubled to read in the Canberra Times about construction workers on the ACT’s light rail project working through the heatwave on days when the temperature was over 40 degrees.
I can obviously see out from my office window the building site next to us, and I have been quite concerned to see that work appears to continue regardless of the outside temperature. This can be risky and unhealthy, and of course, we know that people in Australia have died from working in hot areas.
The ACT government could also look at introducing specific heat policies in regulation rather than relying on the generic provisions in the Work Health and Safety Act. Having made these remarks, I conclude by saying that the Greens, of course, do support Ms Cody’s motion.
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (10.30): I thank Ms Cody for bringing attention to the important contribution made by workers to the Canberra community over the summer period. As many Canberrans enjoy time to rest and recover with family and friends over Christmas, new year and maybe a few weeks in January it is important for us to recognise that many of our fellow Canberrans forgo this time to ensure that critical services continue to be delivered to our community.
In order to make up for this missed time some staff are entitled to increased rates of pay or time off at another time convenient to them. Unfortunately we hear more and more of workers not being paid their entitlements, whether that is superannuation, award rates, penalty rates or, in some cases, not even receiving a payslip.
As a government one of our commitments is to ensure that workers in Canberra are treated fairly and paid fairly, have their voices heard at work and, importantly, go home safely at the end of each day. A key pillar of this commitment, the secure local
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