Page 2005 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 24 October 1989
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We should recall one very important fact about this committee report. It was the first committee report from the new Assembly on a very complicated but important piece of legislation; important not only for the workers of the ACT but also for those who employ them. The importance of the legislation was one of the main reasons why the Assembly sought to have the issue referred to a select committee only some 14 days after its first meeting.
Those of us who served on the advisory committee to Minister Holding will remember the concern by Mr Holding to have this legislation put forward during that long period when we waited with bated breath to see who would eventually fill the 17 seats of this chamber.
It would seem that at that particular time Minister Holding was very keen to have the matter finalised because of promises that I understand he had made, or the Labor Party had certainly made, at the previous Federal election. However, once the legislation was tabled it was an appropriate move to allow all those who felt that they had not been fully consulted to raise some issues.
The new committee system, just established, provided them with an opportunity to raise their concerns before a representative selection of members of the new Assembly. Perhaps if Mr Duby had been part of that committee, he may not have been so harsh on the rest of the Assembly members for suggesting some modifications to that particular Bill.
As my colleague Mr Moore has just suggested to me, that might have been one of the ways to resolve this problem, particularly as it was our first committee and it was on such an important matter. Perhaps the subject matter or the results of that committee in a draft stage should have been referred to those who had participated in the debate and discussions.
Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker, could we interrupt the "Cabinet meeting" to allow Mr Jensen to continue his speech?
Mr Whalan: Oh, sorry.
MR JENSEN: I was suggesting that it would have been appropriate in this case for a draft report to have been provided for those who had major input into the legislation. That might have enabled some of the issues and concerns to be raised before the committee brought down its final report.
However, we have now before us a committee report which, as I think has already been said, is highly appropriate, well thought out and well constructed. I know that those members of that committee spent long hours in developing those matters relating to this very important Occupational Health and Safety Bill.
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