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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-11-17 Daily Xml
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STATUTES AMENDMENT (NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SYSTEM) BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 27 October 2009. Page 3665.)

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (17:23): I will be brief in my summing up of this bill as many of the issues raised were canvassed in my response to the Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2009, the referral bill, that the council has just passed. I wish to record my thanks to members for their contribution to the debate and emphasise the necessity for parliament to expeditiously consider this important bill.

The Hon. Mr Lawson raised issues regarding the overall number of amendments proposed by this bill. It should be appreciated that most of the amendments are consequential upon changes that have already been made in the commonwealth laws; that is, given the new institutions and instruments created by the Fair Work Act 2009, it is appropriate that references in our state laws be updated to reflect that legal reality. They do not, however, change the state law in any way and are not a consequence of the referral of powers.

The other changes in the bill are, however, clearly a consequence of the referral bill, including the fact that the public sector and local government are to be retained within a continuing state system, in particular, to confirm the exclusion of those sectors from the national system and to make transitional arrangements for those parties returning to the state system. I outlined the justification for that approach during debate on the earlier referral bill and as part of my initial contribution to this debate.

It should be appreciated that all the consequential changes and transitional arrangements that have been included in this bill have been subject to intensive consultation with key stakeholders and, in particular, representatives of the employers and workers in the sectors concerned. Importantly, these proposals have strong and unqualified support. In conclusion, I urge the council to expeditiously pass the bill.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clause 1.

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: We regard this as complementary to the previous bill and, whilst we do not support the bill, we will not divide on its passage.

Clause passed.

Remaining clauses (2 to 47), schedule and title passed.

Bill reported without amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (17:27): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON (17:27): As I indicated a moment ago in committee, although the Liberal Party does not support the passage of this bill, we regard it as a complementary piece of legislation to the bill passed earlier today. It is appropriate for me to indicate in response to the rather ill-tempered contribution by the Hon. Mr Finnigan that for him to accuse the Liberal Party of hypocrisy in relation to industrial relations is preposterous. It is, in fact, and has been for years the policy of the federal Labor Party to have a national unified scheme. That has been its objective for years. When John Howard, in my view ill-advisedly—

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins): I remind the honourable member, as I did when I interjected from the floor, that John Howard's title is the Hon. John Howard, and any former prime minister should be referred to in that way.

The Hon. R.D. LAWSON: Thank you for your correction, Mr Acting President. The hypocrisy is really on the side of the Australian Labor Party, which complained bitterly about the terms of the (as I regard it) ill-named WorkChoices legislation, but when it came to power it did not seek to repeal it but sought to exploit it, and exploit it it has. This legislation that has been passed today is the final chapter in that exploitation. As I indicated before, South Australia ultimately will live to regret this legislation.

Bill read a third time and passed.

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