Page 4107 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2019
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MR WALL (Brindabella) (11.37): The opposition will be opposing this clause. The clause seeks to extend the term of a member of the Work Health and Safety Council from three years to four years. The opposition believes that three years as an appointment term, with the opportunity of being reappointed for a second term, is the right measure. The three-year term of appointment is also consistent with the majority of other government board and council positions. Therefore, we will not be supporting this clause.
Clause 11 agreed to.
Clause 12 agreed to.
Clause 13.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (11.38): I seek leave to move amendments to this bill which have not been considered or reported on by the scrutiny committee.
Leave granted.
MR WALL: I move amendment No 1 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 4172]. This is a small amendment which seeks to put a temporary condition in the legislation for the reappointment of members to the Work Health and Safety Council who are currently members of the council. The bill before us today seeks to term limit members to what will be two four-year appointments. To ensure consistency of this during the transition phase, we seek to insert a clause that would prevent an existing member of the council being reappointed to two terms of council after the commencement of this legislation. The purpose of that is to ensure that members of council are not holding positions for longer than desired in the intent of this bill and that there is a consistent and contemporary approach to work health and safety present on the council. We believe that this is a measure the government should have considered to ensure that loopholes were not created in the transition from one framework for our Work Safety Council to the new one.
MS ORR (Yerrabi) (11.40): The government will be opposing this amendment. Existing members of the Work Safety Council contributed to developing this new framework, and there is no need to deliberately rule them out from further work in this area. This bill is the result of extensive consultation and directly responds to the recommendations that increase the independence, transparency and scrutiny of the territory’s work health and safety regulator.
There is already a mechanism for renewal of membership on the Work Safety Council. The government’s bill ensures balanced consultation on the appointment of members by requiring the minister to consult with both employer representatives and employee representatives equally. There is also a balance between refreshing the membership of the council and ensuring the most appropriate skilled and experienced persons are represented on the council. This amendment will not improve the transparency, efficiency or effectiveness of the new Workplace Safety Council.
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