Page 3544 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 25 August 2009
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Faced with the challenges of the current economic climate and the uncertainty of the future, it is essential that the board of this authority provide good governance and leadership in the stewardship of workers’ service credits and entitlements within the schemes and the employers’ levy contributions paid into these funds. To this end, I will be seeking nominations from across the community for membership on the new governing board from business, peak employer and employee organisations and the community in general so that the challenges of the future are met with the best balance of skills and experience that is available to us.
As I have already mentioned in this Assembly, this legislation allows the continuation of a range of improvements being currently undertaken in the area of portable long service leave management and administration in the ACT. It provides the vehicle for the integration of any possible future industry-specific schemes into the administrative fold of the authority.
I would like to thank members of the Assembly for their support. I would also particularly like to express appreciation to those officers from the Office of Industrial Relations that have had a significant contribution to the creation of this legislation. I would like to name Robert Gotts, Chris O’Rourke and, of course, from the Long Service Leave Authority, Phil Collins and his staff. For the record, I would also like to thank the former Speaker of this place, Mr Wayne Berry, who has sought to have—
Mr Hanson: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker: the minister is repeating himself. He has thanked everybody under the sun for putting this bill together, twice. He has talked about who the members of the board are going to be and who he is going to seek as membership of the board a number of times. Clearly, under standing order 62, irrelevance and tedious reputation, I would ask you to ask the minister to come to the point.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: I do not believe there is any point of order. I think Mr Hargreaves is about to conclude.
MR HARGREAVES: I was. Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I might also ask you to consider at a later time pulling Mr Hanson up on the basis of filibustering, because this guy is not allowed to get away with that sort of thing.
As I attempted to do before I was so rudely interrupted, I want to actually acknowledge for the record—given that this part of the legislation is about to have passage—the contribution of the former Speaker, Wayne Berry. It was his vision that we have a single portable long service leave scheme across all sectors of the ACT workforce so that everybody would have their rights protected and be able to enjoy it. I know he indicated so many of the challenges that we have addressed today.
So I would like the record to show that we do, all of us—particularly Mrs Dunne, a fellow member for the seat of Ginninderra, and latterly the poor man’s Christopher Pyne, Mr Alistair Coe, who, after he has examined the Hansard of Mr Berry’s speeches, will see how he can conduct himself in this place—support this legislation.
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