Industrial Relations

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:56): My question is to the Treasurer. The federal government has recently announced five working groups to investigate reforming industrial relations and improving productivity in Australia. My question is to the Treasurer and that is: to what extent has South Australia been consulted?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:56): It's correct to say that the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the federal Attorney-General have made public and private statements in relation to the importance of trying to work together in terms of reforming industrial relations and, more importantly, implementing productivity reform and productivity improvements within Australia. So there are clear implications for all of us within the states and territories.

Certainly, there was the recent teleconference discussion with the federal Minister for Industrial Relations, the Attorney-General, Christian Porter, and in broad terms there has been discussion about this, certainly at the Board of Treasurers level and at the Council on Federal Financial Relations with other treasurers around the nation. There has been discussion about needing to work together in the interests of productivity reform in Australia.

I have recently convened a meeting of the Industrial Relations Consultative Council in South Australia, which is a representative body of employer and employee representatives in South Australia. When this recent initiative was announced by the commonwealth government in relation to the establishment of the working groups or the task groups in this particular area, I rang my long-time acquaintance, comrade Angas Story, who represents unions in South Australia. I have kept in regular contact with Angas during the COVID-19 pandemic with regular telephone calls and discussions about areas of mutual concern and mutual interest.

I raised with him the prospect of perhaps having another meeting, albeit at short notice, of the Industrial Relations Consultative Council, and he readily agreed that it would make great sense to do so, so I have convened a meeting of that consultative group for this Friday. We will be discussing the five issues that the commonwealth government has placed on the record, I note with the support of Sally McManus and other representatives of the trade union movement at the national level.

I think it an important indication of government working together with representatives and workers nationally and, as I said, following on from that, in my discussions with Angas Story a willingness to sit down again to discuss these particular issues on Friday afternoon. So those working groups simply are: award simplification, enterprise agreement making, casuals and fixed-term employees, compliance and enforcement, and greenfield agreements for new enterprises. They are the working groups that are to be established at the national level.

I will be asking the representative employer and employee groups represented on the council on Friday for their views as to what views I should pass on as the South Australian minister to people at the federal level in relation to the results of the consultation at the South Australian level. Represented on that group, as I said, is my long-term acquaintance, Mr Story; but also, representing the shoppies union, Monique Gillespie; representing the AWU, Peter Lamps; representing the PSA, Natasha Brown; representing the AEU, Leah York; and representing the CEPU, Jessica Rogers. From the employer side we have the various employer stakeholder groups, Business SA, the MTA, HIA, MBA, I think I said the AHA, and also the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment, Erma Ranieri, will be represented on that particular group as well.

I will enter those discussions on Friday simply not to put a position to that particular group but to listen to the views, which I am sure will be diverse. I am not expecting a consensus view to be arrived at on these contentious issues from employer and employee representatives. But it is an opportunity for employer and employee representatives, through me and through the state government, to put a point of view to the federal level on these important issues, which are going to be discussed at the national level by representatives of employers and employee representatives.

The final point I make is that, whilst at the national level it is sometimes possible for the views of Eastern States employer and employee representatives to dominate the national agenda, it is important that those of us not in those big Eastern States to have our particular points of view put, both from an employer and employee viewpoint as well. This will be an opportunity for those employer and employee representatives, through me and through the state government, to have their views at least considered at the national level. I think that is important, and I am sure all members in this chamber would share the commonwealth government's initiative to look at how we might be able to work together in the interests of improving productivity in Australia post COVID-19.