Page 2373 - Week 07 - Thursday, 4 August 2016

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It was always intended that the waste disposal content of part 3 of the existing Waste Minimisation Act 2001 would be reproduced, refined and expanded on in this legislation. Not to include these provisions now would be a retrograde step. While this amendment introduces a new part 9A to the bill, it is a technical change to restore clarity in relation to the power to make regulations about ordinary waste containment and collection.

Amendments agreed to.

Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.

Public Sector Management Amendment Bill 2016

Debate resumed from 8 June 2016, on motion by Mr Barr:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (5.35): Madam Speaker, at the outset I will advise the Assembly that we will not be supporting this bill. We will not be supporting it because it does not actually do what it purports to do. It does not streamline the processes of managing the public service. It does not make it easier for our public servants to do their job. Also, and worse, it attacks the basic right of public servants in new laws which are, to quote the ACT Law Society, unprecedented, draconian and without precedent in Australia. It is a case of Mr Barr saying he is standing up for workers rights but not for the ones that work for him.

The stated aim of this bill is to amend the Public Sector Management Act 1994. The act governs the ACT public service. To understand the importance of this reform, let me quote from the outline in the explanatory statement:

Since the establishment of the ACT Public Sector (ACTPS) in 1994 and the commencement of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 … there have been significant changes in culture, structure, administration and expectations of the Service. These developments have in some cases led, and in others followed, developments in other jurisdictions. In that same period, there has also been a growth of regulation governing all private and public sector employers in the arena of workplace rights and obligations.

In the Governing the City State: One ACT Government—One ACT Public Service Report released in February 2011, Dr Allan Hawke AC recommended that the PSM Act should be refreshed to better support a modern ACTPS. The current ACTPS employment framework comprises enterprise agreements made under the Fair Work Act 2009 … as the primary source of entitlements for nonexecutive staff … The role of the PSM Act and Standards therefore has been to provide the main source of entitlements for executives, as well as additional rights, protections and entitlements for nonexecutive staff. However, the PSM Act and Standards have not been adequately maintained to complement the changing agreements.


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