Page 141 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 17 February 1993
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GOVERNMENT SERVICE - OVER-AWARD PAYMENTS,
BENEFITS AND CONCESSIONS
MR DE DOMENICO (11.46): I move:
That the Government immediately initiate an inquiry into all over-award payments, benefits and concessions paid or made to employees in the ACT Government Service including the staff of agencies such as ACTEW, ACTION, ACTTAB, ACT Forests, Totalcare, Milk Authority and Natex.
Madam Speaker, although unprepared, I am delighted to be able to move this motion.
Mr Lamont: You are always unprepared, Tony.
MR DE DOMENICO: That comes well from you! Get up on your feet, Mr Lamont. Let us debate yours, which appeared at No. 5.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr De Domenico, I think you should take your own advice and ignore some of those interjections.
Mr Kaine: That particular interjection shows what a wimp Mr Lamont is. He will not debate his subject, but he criticises Mr De Domenico.
MR DE DOMENICO: That is the usual style of the trade union movement, is it not?
Madam Speaker, I am delighted to move the motion standing in my name. I think the Government should immediately initiate an inquiry into all over-award payments, benefits and concessions paid or made to employees in the ACT Government Service, and the names of the various bodies are in the motion. We do not move this motion lightly. We have heard from time to time about the alleged rorts that happen in certain areas. ACTEW was one that made the headlines, and in ACTION we know of the infamous people playing golf when they were supposed to be sick and being caught out by their boss.
This motion virtually says: Let us make sure that everybody working for the ACT Government is getting a fair pay. We are not saying that they should not all be getting a fair pay, but let us make sure that they are not getting something more than they deserve to get. I think even the Minister, Mr Connolly, from time to time has made similar comments, only to be told by various members of the Transport Workers Union, I recall, that he should pull his head in or else various things would occur during the next Labor Party preselection.
We have heard various members of the Government talk about how important it is to improve employment opportunities in the ACT, how important it is to find jobs for our young people. That is very laudable and we applaud all those comments made by members of the Government over the months and years. What is wrong with us having a good look at all the salaries and structures and over-award payments and the like that occur in the ACT Government Service? Perhaps it is appropriate now to look at things of that nature, seeing that the Chief Minister, with a great fanfare just before we got up before Christmas, finally decided to do something about setting up our own ACT public service.
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