Page 2387 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 August 2017
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ground having just fallen off the roof. To say that I do not care about the safety of individuals like him is a gutless attack on someone who is trying to stand up for some transparency and accountability in the way this government operates and goes about its business. The unions and their ACT Labor comrades sitting opposite are choosing to hide behind workplace safety as a shield for their political agenda.
Again, for the record, I believe in workplace safety and the rights of the worker as much as those opposite and as much as some in the union do. I also believe in the freedom of the individual and the rights of employers and business owners to operate free from bullying and intimidation. To set the scene for this issue coming to light, I will read an email that I received on 13 June from a parent of a student attending Campbell High School. It read:
Hi Andrew,
I just wanted to let you know that the union reps attended Campbell High School today, giving Yr 10 students a 40 minute presentation, including show bags and answering questions on how to join the union.
After raising the issue publicly and asking questions of the minister during the estimates hearings, I received a letter from UnionsACT refuting any recruiting in schools. In fact, the letter says:
I can confirm that at none of the work experience sessions were union membership forms handed out.
This does not rule out tacit recruiting throughout any session by union organisers. The fact remains that, in my view and the view of many parents, this kind of program should not be delivered by a politically motivated partisan organisation or an affiliated organisation such as the ACT union movement. The alarming facts are clear for all to see. Not much gets done in this town without the unions’ say so. This government is completely and utterly beholden to the union movement. Only recently we heard about Labor MLAs having to report to UnionsACT should they dare to attend a Master Builders Association event or even meet with them. This is a completely unreasonable request, and the fact that there has been no denial of this practice tells us that this has become the normal way of doing business for this government.
It is very clear that a more appropriate choice to undertake this task would be an independent body that already exists within the ACT—WorkSafe ACT. After all, WorkSafe ACT’s role is specifically as the primary enforcer of the territory’s health and safety workers compensation laws through education and compliance activities. I wonder if this government would even consider allowing an industry peak body, such as the Master Builders Association, for example, undertaking workplace safety programs in schools and informing our young people? My guess is that the unions simply would not allow it.
By raising this issue publicly, it seems that I have poked the bear yet again. UnionsACT unleashed a campaign in my electorate to discredit me personally and
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