World Day for Safety and Health at Work

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:47): On 28 April, the United Nations has set aside a day for a cause that is very close to my heart, World Day for Safety and Health at Work. This cause—which should be a given in any workplace but is, sadly, not—is important to all genuine Labor people and I sincerely hope that it is also important to everyone on the other side of the chamber.

Health and safety at work should be the very least that every employer, whether in private enterprise or government, should offer their workers. I am proud to say that Labor, both state and federal, have done their part to improve work safety across the nation. The Gillard federal government implemented national work health and safety laws in 2012. The following year, Jay Weatherill's South Australian Labor government brought in work health and safety state laws.

I had the privilege of being the minister who introduced this legislation into parliament. It met with significant opposition from Rob Lucas on behalf of the Liberal Party, and also a well-funded campaign by the Housing Industry Association. Obviously, the Housing Industry Association had problems with laws that had restrictions on heights, where a builder or a scaffolder had to put up scaffolding to ensure that workers were safe working at heights. They also had problems with 'person conducting a business undertaking' where the chain of responsibility did not just stop at the leading hand or the worksite foreman, it actually went up to CEOs and boards of directors. So everyone in the employment of that particular company had some sort of responsibility for the workers underneath them.

My opening statement was 100 pages long to try to allay all the issues that were brought up during second reading speeches, but no matter what was said and what assurances were given, the Liberals opposed it. It got through this chamber by one vote, with the support of the Greens and also the Hon. John Darley. I can only imagine how many lives have been saved since that legislation was brought in and how many injuries have been avoided.

For all of the safety measures, though, of course, there will continue to be work accidents, many of which could possibly be avoided. I think that is one reason we should take this international day very seriously. We need to ensure that every employer, regardless of which measures are already in place, goes that extra yard to see that everything is working as well as possible at the worksite, that they should be keeping an eye out on every employee's safety.

Similarly, every worker needs to be aware for their own safety and for the safety and protection of their workmates. They should be looking out for their mates. Everyone who goes to work, whether it is on a construction site, in an office or on a road—to name just three workplaces—expects to avoid injury in the carrying out of their duties.

The thought that some people actually may not return home at night is unimaginable. The International Labour Organization has been observing the World Day for Safety and Health at Work since 2003. While we in Australia and some other nations have greatly improved working conditions, that is not the case in many countries around the world.

The day is set aside to bring attention to and to advance the opportunity for people in all countries to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Freedom, equity, security and human dignity are matters we generally take for granted, but sadly are not available in all countries. We need to continue promoting rights at work and, as the UN says, strengthen dialogue in work-related issues.

Without our rules in place, it would not be long before some employers would cut corners, which could result in accidents and injuries. The vast majority of employers are decent employers, they are very honest employers and actually take safety very seriously. It is just those employers who consistently have deaths and injuries in their workplace over and over again.

If you think World Day for Safety and Health at Work is just another reason to have a special day, think again. It reminds us that no matter how diligent we are, we can always improve and we can do our best to make sure that mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, partners and friends who go to work in the morning return home in good health at night.