Page 2943 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 2013
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Her plea was backed by the ACTU. Members of many unions, such as the CFMEU, the CPSU and the Australian Services Union, already have access to free legal advice in drawing up a will. We need more young people to take up the offer.
Any death on a worksite is one too many and a tragedy for loved ones and the community. Work safety is everyone’s concern. Workers should be able to return to their loved ones at the end of the day uninjured. They must have the appropriate training for the task they are required to perform, and we must do our best to have the work health and safety laws in place to minimise risk and enforce the laws.
Together, workers and employers should honour occupational health and safety laws, not just to the letter but to honour the spirit that no-one should be injured at work through a preventable accident. Backing Kay Catanzariti’s plea for young people to be encouraged to make a will honours Ben and his mother and means we learn something from this tragedy.
Ensuring young people have the sobering experience of making a will can also reinforce for them why work safety measures are so important and really are a matter of life and death. The construction industry is a more dangerous industry than most. That is why it is a hard hat, fluoro-collar workplace. But it also means we have to work harder to ensure worker safety.
We also need to ensure the loved ones of someone who dies too young do not suffer the added burdens from lack of a will. A good place to learn more about wills is the ACT Public Trustee’s website.
Property Council ACT awards
MR COE (Ginninderra) (9.11): I rise tonight to speak about the work of the Property Council of the ACT. The Property Council is the leading advocate for the property industry, and its mission is to champion the interests of the property sector. The council’s members include most of Australia’s major investors, property owners and developers and the property industry professional service and trade providers. The Property Council seeks to represent the interests of its members in the political arena and focuses on the areas of tax reform, planning strategy, development and building controls, urban policy and economic growth, environment, lease legislation and trade powers.
The council has a reputation for being fierce and vocal but reasonable advocates for the development of Canberra, and I commend them for their strong stance on behalf of their members. The Property Council provides its members with the opportunity to network, build knowledge and continue to learn about the industry. I would like to congratulate the executive of the Property Council of the ACT on the significant work they do for the property industry here in the ACT. The executive director is Catherine Carter, and members of staff are Mary Wood, Andrew Lowcock, Jodi McColl, Rebecca Scott and Nick Westenberg.
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