House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-26 Daily Xml

Contents

WORKCOVER CORPORATION

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): My question is again to the Premier. Did the Premier's government promise SA Unions that the entitlements of injured workers would not be cut? On 30 January 2007, the President of SA Unions, Nick Threadgold, stated:

We have sought and received commitments from the state government that entitlements to injured workers would not be cut.

Mr Threadgold also told Adelaide ABC Radio:

Michael Wright is a man of his word and we are confident that the commitment we have been given will hold up.

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:25): The commitment that we have made is to fix the WorkCover system—a WorkCover system—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Our commitment is to fix the WorkCover system which is basically failing workers by not getting them back to work and which also, of course, has an unfunded liability which is forcing employers to pay more for their levies. We have pledged to fix the WorkCover system, and we will.