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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1014 ..
MR BERRY (continuing):
At the time the legislation was introduced last year, and for some time after, I felt satisfied, though uneasy, about the Government's commitment to it. I am now a little more uneasy, since I have had a briefing in relation to the matter, but I will come back to that in moment. Let me explain first of all what this Bill sets out to do.
This is a very straightforward piece of legislation. It merely replaces a provision in the Occupational Health and Safety (Amendment) Act (No. 2) 1999 which reads as follows:
The commissioner may make an arrangement with a chief executive who has control of an administrative unit or other appropriate person for the use of services of the staff or facilities of an administrative unit or of a Territory authority.
In the initial stages of drafting this Bill, I was concerned about that provision because I thought it did not provide adequate independence for the commissioner, though at the time I was convinced that this was an appropriate course and allowed it to occur. I thought that, on the face of it, the Government would accept that the Assembly wanted this statutory authority to be independent from government. This statutory officer will have the power to take action under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against chief executives of various departments. It is extremely important that he ought not to be influenced by chief executives in relation to these matters. I do not wish to impugn chief executives, but knowing the interference that we have had in the past, I want to ensure that the lines of independence are clearly drawn.
I have chosen to replace that provision with the words which you will find in clause 4 of this Bill:
The commissioner has all the powers of a chief executive in relation to the staff assisting him or her as if the staff were employed in a department under the control of the commissioner.
Where did that come from? The most independent statutory officer we have in the ACT to scrutinise government operations is the Auditor-General. This provision is lifted from the Auditor-General's Act. It puts the independent Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner in exactly the same position as the Auditor-General in relation to the employment of staff. It clarifies the position and sends a strong message to the Government that we meant it when we said "independent".
I must thank the Government for the briefing I received late yesterday on progress thus far in relation to the Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner. It confirmed the view I had on this matter. I was given a forthright briefing by officers. I thank them very much for their efforts and for putting their time aside. I have been given a sheaf of papers in relation to the Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner. I understand that advertisements have been placed for the position. However, I will express a few concerns for the record.
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