Parliament (Joint Services) (Staffing) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 12 April 2017.)

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (16:43): I rise to speak on the Parliament (Joint Services) (Staffing) Amendment Bill 2017. The opposition have received advice from the delegates on the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee that this is in order. I understand that the relevant staff, who are largely in respect of Hansard, the library and catering, have been consulted, and this is in order. It essentially has the effect of removing the need for executive determination to change the staffing status, and it can then be done by the JPSC (Joint Parliamentary Service Committee). We consent to the bill.

Mr GEE (Napier) (16:44): I rise to speak in support of the Parliament (Joint Services) (Staffing) Amendment Bill 2017. This bill will help streamline the operation of the Joint Parliamentary Service, as well as reducing unnecessary administrative work for the government and the Governor.

The JPS provides an excellent and important service to all members. As members would know, the JPS is divided up into four divisions: the Parliamentary Catering Division, the Parliamentary Reporting Division, the Parliamentary Library Division and the Joint Services Division. The JPS reports to the Joint Parliamentary Service Committee, which is made up of the Speaker, the President of the Legislative Council and two members from each house, one from the government and one from the opposition. The Speaker and President alternate in the role of the Chair, each acting for a year at a time.

For the most part, the Parliamentary (Joint Services) Act 1985 provides the JPSC with the power to manage the affairs of the Joint Parliamentary Service. This includes the power to make appointments, to vacate positions, make temporary appointments, discipline staff and grant most types of leave. However, there are certain powers that the act grants to the Governor. Most significantly, the Governor has the power to create and abolish offices in the JPS. The Governor also has the power to classify officers, the classification then fixing the salary appropriate to that office. Both of these powers are exercised on the recommendation of the JPSC, which must then cause notice of the Governor's decision to be laid before each house.

In addition, although most types of leave can be granted by the JPSC, an employee who wishes to take special leave with pay for more than three working days in any financial year must have the consent of the Governor. It is unclear why parliament, in 1985, chose to grant these powers to the Governor. This scheme is not replicated in other comparable jurisdictions; the parliaments of the commonwealth, Victoria and the UK, for example, are responsible for their own internal administration.

One consideration may have been that it enabled the Governor, and in turn the Executive Council, to be kept abreast of parliament's expenditure, as any new spending on staff would need the Governor's approval. Another suggestion is that it may have been established to ensure that positions in the JPS were classified using the same framework as the public sector, though this is already encouraged in the act. Whatever the reason parliament saw for establishing the JPS in this way, it is no longer consistent with modern government and merely adds red tape.

Just to create a new role, for example, the secretary to the JPSC has to write to the Governor, whose secretary in turn writes to the Premier. The Premier must then instruct his department to prepare a submission to cabinet, which has to travel through the department back to the Premier. Cabinet deliberates on it, and then passes it on to the Executive Council. Finally, the Governor approves it, and his secretary passes it back to the secretary of the JPSC.

The same process must be followed whenever the JPSC wants to abolish a position or reclassify a position to a higher level. This is not an efficient use of the government's time and it is not in keeping with the way the public sector operates. In the public sector, the power to manage staffing matters is delegated to agencies, and again within agencies, to create a flexible and responsive workforce.

This government has demonstrated its commitment to removing red tape. This government has made important streamlining reforms in the areas of taxation, workers compensation, and planning, as well as in liquor licensing and live music regulation. Other reforms have streamlined processes for industry, such as changes to certificates of compliance in the plumbing, gas, and electrical trades, changes to apprenticeships, simplifying contracts for local builders, simplifying trade waste, reducing red tape for the tuna industry and improving road transport for the agriculture industry. These initiatives were passed as part of the 2016 Simplify Day process, and work on Simplify Day 2017 is currently underway.

Streamlining staffing processes for the JPS, although it does not have a direct impact on the broader community, is another step in this government's ongoing program of modernising the way we do business and freeing up resources to get more important things done. The amendment bill will transfer from the Governor to the JPSC the power to create and abolish positions, to classify and reclassify positions and to grant special leave with pay for more than three days. Importantly, these amendments will not reduce the rights of JPS staff members. As is currently the case, the JPSC will have to cause notice of the creation, abolition, classification, or reclassification of an officer to be laid before both houses, allowing parliament to scrutinise the committee's decisions. The JPSC will continue to be prevented from abolishing a position held by a permanent officer.

JPS staff will continue to be subject to the Fair Work Act 2009. This will give them access to industrial processes, including the power to appeal in case of unfair dismissal. JPS staff will also continue to be subject to the Return to Work Act 2014, providing them with access to support and a path back to work should they suffer a workplace injury, as well as to dispute resolution mechanisms within the act. In this way, the amendment bill will preserve the rights of staff, while making the job of managing the Joint Parliamentary Service simpler and easier. In turn, this will make it easier for the JPS to provide us with the excellent service we are accustomed to. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (16:50): I would like to thank the member for Napier and the deputy leader for their contributions to this bill. It is a very small bill that fixes an important red tape issue. I think there is an interesting issue as to why the Governor should be involved really in our issues as a parliament at all.

Ms Chapman: It's as a protection measure, actually.

Mr PICTON: There you go. As a strong republican, I view that parliament should be of its own devices, particularly this house, but this is something that the Governor is very supportive of removing. In particular, I want to thank all the staff who work in this house for their very hard efforts, particular over some of the late sittings that we have had. I think this bill will help in terms of the process of recruiting excellent staff in the future. I would also like to thank Michael Brougham from DPC for his work on the bill, as well as Jan Cox from CSO and Gemma Paech from my office. I commend the bill to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (16:52): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.

Sitting extended beyond 17:00 on motion of Hon. Z.L. Bettison.