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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-03 Daily Xml
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WORKERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION (INCOME MAINTENANCE) AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 23 September 2009. Page 3291.)

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (17:48): I indicate that Liberal members will not be supporting the bill. It seeks to reverse changes made by the parliament recently in relation to the WorkCover scheme. Those changes were made with some reluctance, but they were caused by this government's mismanagement of the scheme which, at that stage, was headed to an unfunded liability of over $1 billion, which sum has now been reached because of the global financial crisis and other matters. We do not believe that we can now reverse those changes, and we will not be supporting the bill.

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (17:50): The government does not support the bill. As we know, a substantive legislative reform package was introduced by the government and passed by the parliament with the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Scheme Review) Amendment Act 2008. That program of legislative reforms passed by the parliament is still being implemented. The bill would introduce amendments to the scheme which are inconsistent with that package of reforms based on the recommendations of the Clayton review. The bill would ameliorate last year's legislative reforms and undermine the mechanisms put in place to achieve improved return to work rates, the future return of the scheme to a fully funded position and a reduction in industry levy rates.

The Hon. Ms Bressington's proposed amendments would have a negative impact on our efforts to reduce the scheme's liability. The 2008 amending legislation requires that an independent review of the legislative amendments be conducted as soon as practicable after 31 December 2010. To put it briefly, the parliament has passed the package of reform legislation. Having done that and put in place certain reforms to improve the future liability of the scheme and ensure that it is viable and able to meet the needs of injured workers into the future, it would seem rather incongruous to then come along before we have even reviewed how it is operating and make reversals, and for that reason the government opposes the bill.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (17:52): I thank the Hons Bernard Finnigan and Robert Lawson for their contributions, which are not unexpected. This bill is back before us because I promised the injured workers I would give the government and opposition one more chance to rehabilitate themselves and revisit some of the harshest changes that were made to WorkCover last year, including the step downs that result, in the case of the lowest paid workers, with people being paid well below minimum wages. I will not re-agitate debate here, but I want to put on the record the names, especially of those Labor Party members who come from the unions, who voted last year to do the dirty on injured workers and who, we have every indication now, will do the same again. I urge honourable members to support this bill.

The council divided on the second reading:

AYES (5)
Bressington, A. Brokenshire, R.L. Darley, J.A.
Hood, D.G.E. Parnell, M. (teller)
NOES (12)
Dawkins, J.S.L. Finnigan, B.V. (teller) Holloway, P.
Hunter, I.K. Lawson, R.D. Lensink, J.M.A.
Lucas, R.I. Schaefer, C.V. Stephens, T.J.
Wade, S.G. Wortley, R.P. Zollo, C.

Majority of 7 for the noes.

Second reading thus negatived.

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