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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-29 Daily Xml
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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS REFORM

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (14:56): Can the Minister for Industrial Relations advise the chamber of the government's main industrial relations and work health and safety achievements in 2012, perhaps either alphabetically or chronologically, because I know there are a lot of them?

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:57): I would like to thank the member for his very important question. I will try to be brief, but there were so many achievements and so much going on this year that I think it is important that this chamber gets to understand the sort of in-depth initiatives taken within industrial relations.

The year 2012 was certainly a historic year for industrial relations and work health and safety in this state, and the benefits to working South Australians will be felt for many years to come. After 19 long and arduous months of debate, the harmonised work health and safety legislation laws passed our parliament only a few weeks ago. This historic and important legislative accomplishment emphasised the staunch disparity between Labor and the opposition who, during the course of the debate, showed nothing but contempt towards working South Australians and the business community.

The Liberals thought it appropriate that legislation should provide for employers, CEOs and company directors to simply shirk their health and safety responsibilities by contracting out their obligations. Furthermore, they claimed that a CEO, director or senior manager should not have duties to their workers on a worksite because they don't necessarily have direct control of the activities on that worksite. The government firmly rejected those abhorrent arguments.

On this side, we believe that workplace safety is everybody's responsibility, from the worker, the manager, the CEO, contractors and subcontractors alike. We even saw those opposed to the bill continue to peddle the misinformation about alleged increased costs to housing and the end of the housing construction sector. This occurred even after the Housing Industry Association sought government funding, and were approved the funding, of around $36,000 to investigate ways to manage risks associated with working at heights.

Even the HIA acknowledged that something needed to be done to enhance fall protection and reduce the high rates of industry in the construction sector. In the end, sensible heads prevailed. South Australia now joins Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and the commonwealth in enacting this reform. Western Australia has taken positive steps towards harmonisation, but Victoria, under a Baillieu-led Liberal government, has, unsurprisingly, obstructed the harmonisation process.

Victoria is basing its opposition on a regulatory impact statement; however, it refuses to share its contents publicly. This phantom RIS found that the largest cost impact on business could result from the definition of 'confined spaces', which is extraordinary given that the current Victorian legislation and the work health and safety legislation regarding confined spaces are substantially the same. However, this is the standard of debate we have come to expect from Liberals across the nation.

For South Australia, for the first time, unions will, after receiving appropriate training, be able to enter a worksite to investigate health and safety issues. Those opposite stirred up some controversy about this aspect of the law, notwithstanding the fact that union officials in South Australia can already enter workplaces for IR purposes. Furthermore, I understand that all other states and territories have provided for union right of entry for occ health and safety purposes for some time. Why then the Liberals think that South Aussie workers deserve less protection, less representative rights, and less resources from which to access health and safety assistance compared with our interstate counterparts absolutely escapes me.

Having another set of eyes looking out for the health and safety of workers can only be a good thing, and I am sure union officials in South Australia will use their new right of entry diligently and appropriately, and their actions will invariably lead to a reduction of workplace injuries. I am proud of the fact that we now lead the way as the only jurisdiction to not only meet but exceed its target to achieve a 40 per cent reduction in serious injury rates by June 2012. This was confirmed in the latest comparative performance monitoring report released in October.

Labor is proud that since winning office in 2002 workplace injuries have fallen by over 40 per cent in South Australia. However, South Australia must always strive to do better, and laws like the Work Health and Safety Act will allow us to effectively build up the work already done in providing safer workplaces for the benefit of all South Australians. The year 2012 has also seen an extension of the Passport to Safety program, which is aimed at raising awareness about the importance of workplace health and safety for young people who are preparing to enter the workforce. This important program will lead to further reductions in injury rates in the future.

The government is also incredibly proud of changes earlier this year to public holidays and shop trading legislation in this state. As members are aware, the Shop Trading Hours Act 1977 regulates the times at which non-exempt shops can trade over the Christmas and new year period. Each year, my office and my predecessors' office would receive a significant number of written applications from retailers requesting exemption notices. This process required issuing well in excess of 100 exemption notices for stores to trade extra hours to cater for the consumer demand over this period. I am sure members will agree that this out-of-date process was onerous and bureaucratic for all concerned and led to excessive red tape for retailers.

I am now pleased to inform the chamber that the recent amendments have streamlined this exemption process. The amendments created a new shopping district for the CBD and allowed non-exempt shops within this district to trade on all public holidays, except Good Friday, Christmas Day, and before 12 noon on ANZAC Day. CBD trading on public holidays has been an immense success in 2012, and I look forward to it continuing over the Christmas period and into 2013. The amendments have also allowed me to issue a single exemption notice for extra shop trading covering a period of up to 30 days for any or all shopping districts for the Christmas period. This notice was published in the Gazette on 1 November.

In addition to the CBD trading on public holidays, the government is also proud of the creation of part-day public holidays on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve from 7pm until midnight. We remain proud, notwithstanding the hysteria generated by some members opposite. The arrangements ensure that employees required to work after 7pm on these evenings will receive appropriate penalty rates of pay and have the reasonable right to refuse the shift, pursuant to the National Employment Standards under the federal Fair Work Act 2009.

Importantly, an amendment was moved to mandate a review of the effectiveness and cost implications of the part-day public holidays and changes to shop trading arrangements. This review will be conducted during the first three months of 2013 by the Centre for Economic Studies. I am also pleased that, after years of negotiation, the Construction Industry Long Service Leave (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill has finally passed this parliament. The legislation achieves greater efficiency in the management of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund. It extends the board's power to vary the levy rate and also clarifies the intent of the predominance rule.

These amendments were a long time coming and I was delighted to work with the members of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Board who were appointed in July. Ms Margaret Sexton (the presiding member); Mr Rick Cairney, representing Business SA; Mr Steven Minuzzo, representing the Master Builders Association; Mr Steven Hall, representing the Building Industry Specialist Contractors Organisation of Australia; and Mr Bob Donnelly, Mr Aaron Cart ledge and Mr Colin Fenney, representing SA Unions, and their deputies, all play a pivotal role in the effectiveness of this board.

In addition to the significant legislative achievements, 2012 saw numerous other initiatives that will improve the working lives of many South Australians. I am strongly committed to the work being performed by the Work Life Balance policy group within SafeWork SA and the Work Life Balance Advisory Committee.

Specific initiatives include the Quality of Part-Time Work Project, which will allow a greater emphasis on flexible work arrangements to allow South Australians to meet the competing demands of work and life, particularly working mums. In addition, the Age Matters Project plays a vital role in addressing the underutilisation and discrimination that mature age workers experience in recruitment and employment in the South Australian workforce.

This year, I have been pleased to work with the Asbestos Advisory Committee in discussing ways to educate the public about dangers associated with asbestos exposure. I will have the privilege of launching the Asbestos Safety Action Plan at the Asbestos Victims' Memorial Day Service tomorrow. I have also worked closely with the advisory committee during the establishment of the Asbestos Home Renovator Taskforce designed to tackle the growing concern of homeowners removing asbestos without appropriate awareness of the risks.

I was also pleased to work cooperatively with unions and other representatives to finalise negotiations in several important SA government enterprise agreements. During the course of the government enterprise agreement negotiations, I proposed the inclusion of domestic violence leave provisions. I firmly believe that violence, be it at work or at home, can have a dramatic impact on the health, safety and welfare of workers and can cause significant economic and social costs to the victim, their family, the business in which they work and the community. For the first time, South Australian government enterprise agreements will incorporate specific provisions that are designed to support employees experiencing domestic violence.

In addition to matters at a state level, I was pleased to work collaboratively with my federal counterpart, the Hon. Mr Bill Shorten, in delivering initiatives designed to protect workers' industrial conditions. Unfortunately, as Liberal governments have gained power in some states, their attacks on working people have become more and more prevalent. Premier Newman's attack on the public servants in Queensland and Premier O'Farrell's actions in New South Wales should be utterly condemned.

The opposition here in South Australia has vowed to make even more extreme cuts to the public sector if they win government in 2014. We already know that the Leader of the Opposition and her new but unimproved deputy have conjured up their own hit list, targeting teachers, child protection workers, ambulance officers and the police. So, in light of these attacks on hardworking public servants, I am pleased to learn of minister Shorten's legislative amendments to the Fair Work Act to protect the entitlements of public servants transferring to the private sector.

Once again, a Labor government has shown the courage needed to clean up the messes created by the Liberals. Of course, the matters spoken about today aren't the only positive achievements for the government in this area of industrial relations and work health and safety this year, but they do serve as a sobering reminder of the stark difference between the Labor government, whose primary focus is on achieving safer and fairer workplaces, and those opposite who show nothing—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: —but contempt towards hardworking South Australians. Where the Labor government looks to better industrial relations conditions, the Liberals look only to slash and burn. Where the Labor government invests in key infrastructure programs that create sustainable jobs, the Liberals propose cuts that will lead to increased unemployment and have an enormous adverse impact on workplace efficiencies.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I can tell the time, the Hon. Mr Dawkins.

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Almost finished. Where the Labor government is focused on improved workplace safety, having achieved the highest reduction of injury rates compared to any other state in the previous 10 years, the Liberal slashes to funding will inevitably lead to an unacceptable increase in workplace injuries and fatalities. The government is proud, and as the Minister for Industrial Relations I am proud, of our accomplishments that will better the working lives of South Australians. During my interactions with the business community, I have also heard murmurs of their disappointment in the Hon. Mr Lucas—a man who promises so much but delivers so little, a man who opposes important government reforms through irrational fearmongering.

Perhaps the honourable member should spend less time uselessly playing on his Twitter account and more time focusing on the needs of the community. I for one look forward to working closely with business and unions on important IR reforms, even if we do not always agree on issues, and I also look forward to another productive and prosperous year in 2013.

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