Page 3117 - Week 07 - Thursday, 1 July 2010
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We believe that WorkSafe should be a proactive organisation engaging positively with Canberra businesses, workers and unions to pre-empt and prevent workplace injuries and health problems. To this end, we will commend the work done by the Work Safety Commissioner in providing work safety education to businesses and employees in Canberra. In particular, the recent series on workplace bullying that emphasises that it is a health and safety risk in workplaces was very encouraging and, again, a positive step forward.
While the education program about psycho-social risks in the workplace it appears to be rolling out well, we would encourage the government to look at improvements to the inspection regime and enforcement provisions. They will allow more people to feel safe and comfortable in reporting workplace mental health issues as a genuine workplace safety problem. For white collar workers, depression and health are arguably the biggest danger they face in the workplace.
The estimates committee made a recommendation that the minister advise the Assembly via a ministerial statement on the outcomes of the review of WorkSafe ACT. The government has agreed to this recommendation following the 12-month review of the implementation of recent reforms. The proof of whether this amalgamation works will be in the outcomes and results achieved. If there is an improvement I would hope and expect to see improved functionality, more timely assessments and the rectification of some of the concerns that have been raised in relation to the operations of WorkCover. I also look forward to the setting up of the asbestos register which the government has expressed a willingness to do.
The second issue I will be discussing is the Corrective Services output. One of the ACT Greens’ largest concerns with the budget is the lack of general accountability measures within the budget. The decision to build a human rights compliant prison with the AMC was, at least in part, predicated upon delivering improved results in terms of lowered re-offending rates, better prisoner health outcomes, and higher take-up of education and employment programs.
While we understand that the AMC has had prisoners for a relatively short period of time, the government should be setting targets and collecting data against concrete accountability measures now to establish trend measurements. Without this data the government and the Assembly are unable to judge the effectiveness of the AMC in delivering its stated outcomes. In particular, we need a dedicated mechanism to measure re-offending rates amongst prisoners who have previously spent time in the AMC.
The estimates committee made two recommendations in relation to the AMC. Recommendation 33 is that accountability indicators for the Department of Justice and Community Safety under output 2.1 be expanded to include the collection of data about recidivisms specific to the AMC.
The government has agreed in principle, stating that consideration will be given to the development of one or more appropriate accountability indicators for future budgets. This recommendation will be key in determining the success of programs in the AMC and would be seen by many as a necessary part of determining the future operations of
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