Page 4099 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 20 September 2011
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might have on people who work for volunteer organisations. I have had, and members have had, specific representations from both the University of the Third Age, which is an entirely volunteer-run organisation, and an organisation called VISE, Volunteers for Isolated Students Education, which provides volunteer retired teachers who go to remote areas to help with the education of children in remote areas. And there are concerns that the implications that this legislation not only locally but nationally will have on organisations such as this.
This amendment deletes from clause 35 the responsibilities under section 28 for volunteers to perform the duties of workers. But it still requires them to uphold the duties of other persons at the workplace. What it does is essentially say quite clearly that volunteers are not workers. Volunteers sometimes do work that appears to be the same or similar to that done by workers. We say that volunteers have responsibilities in a workplace and those responsibilities should be set out in section 29 where it talks about the responsibilities of non-workers, any member of the public, in a workplace. Those responsibilities are clear and are quite comprehensive in that place.
The concern that the Canberra Liberals have, and the volunteer organisations we have dealt with have, is that the proposal to impose the duties of a worker on a volunteer is onerous. It will have cost implications for the volunteer organisation which already has a range of responsibilities under its public risk liability insurance. We think that it is unnecessary. It seems to me that governments, not just this government but governments generally, do not understand the difference between working for a wage and volunteering in a sector.
I think that, given the amount of time that is spent by the people on the other side on how much they stand up for volunteers, when it comes to the crunch, in this legislation it is shown that they have not been prepared to listen to the concerns of volunteers. Only the Canberra Liberals have been prepared to listen and act on the concerns of volunteers. I commend the amendment to the Assembly.
MS GALLAGHER: (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Health and Minister for Industrial Relations) (5.00): The government will not be supporting this amendment. The amendment proposed by Mrs Dunne would undermine the effective protection of all workers by reducing what is required of volunteers who may well work side by side with them every day and, indeed, who often work in areas where you would want to ensure that their health and safety were being actively managed and monitored by their volunteer organisation.
The government do not believe the duties of workers set out in section 28 of the bill are onerous. Indeed, we think the opposite. They simply require workers, whether they are paid or not, to take reasonable care for themselves and others and to help the person or business they work for to comply with the act. This is no harder for volunteers than it is for any worker. Mrs Dunne’s amendment would still require volunteers to meet the duties that apply to persons at the workplace that are not workers in section 29 of the bill. The maximum penalties for failing to comply with sections 28 and 29 of the bill are the same.
As I have said in this place, the government do value the role of volunteers and their organisations. We have no intention of hindering either. Indeed, obligations on
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