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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-11-25 Daily Xml
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WORKCOVER CORPORATION

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (14:43): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations a question about WorkCover.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As members would be aware—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: As members would be aware, if they listened, under the current WorkCover provisions, the termination of weekly payments is enabled whenever WorkCover or its agent disputes aspects of a worker's claim. These provisions impose financial hardship and emotional distress on injured workers since claim disputes often drag on for many months. As such, they also undermine workers' financial capacity to challenge WorkCover decisions and, in the process, increase the sense of powerlessness experienced by many when they are feeling particularly powerless and vulnerable.

This led the Labor Party at its last state conference on 25-26 October 2009 to move into its state party platform that the Labor Party supports continued payments to workers whose claims are the subject of dispute. They took that policy to the South Australian people at the election. My questions are:

1. If it is in your platform, when are you going to actually implement it?

2 When is this party of the workers—the historical workers' party in this country—actually going to start standing up for workers?

3. How will you face the state conference this weekend having not fulfilled this promise?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (14:45): It is rather odd that the honourable member is asking about internal party matters. I will be happy at the end of question time today to make a statement on what the government proposes to do in relation to the section 36 provisions of WorkCover.

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