Page 259 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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The new independent Work Health and Safety Commissioner and WorkSafe ACT will allow for more transparent, effective regulation. This will support the development of a stronger safety culture across Canberra’s workplaces and will establish a focus on compliance and enforcement. Preventing breaches of work health and safety laws will be a top priority and, where breaches are discovered, the new regulator will be empowered to take swift and strong enforcement action.
The 2018 review by Nous consulting provided a solid foundation for improving the transparency, governance and effectiveness of work health and safety regulation. These changes were specifically designed to ensure that our regulator is effective at monitoring compliance, taking action in response to safety breaches, and promoting even stronger and more up-to-date safety practices. These changes, combined with even more resources for work safety inspectors and functions, will directly benefit working Canberrans.
This government’s investment in an independent work health and safety regulator will put our hardworking professionals in the best position possible to make sure that Canberrans are safe at work.
MR PETTERSSON: Minister, can you outline other ways that this government is protecting working Canberrans?
MS ORR: Thank you, Mr Pettersson, for the question. The new independent regulator is a critical part of our efforts to promote safety, but we are taking a comprehensive approach. We delivered legislation to require that workers are engaged in effective, ongoing and meaningful consultation in the Work Health and Safety Amendment ACT 2018, which was introduced by the previous Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety.
This government also brought forward legislation to help workers take legal action to get their pay and entitlements in the courts. That legislation, introduced by the Attorney-General and passed in September, provided a pathway for workers to access our local courts efficiently and with minimal costs. Importantly, it also responded to recommendations from the Director of Public Prosecutions to strengthen the prosecution of work health and safety matters.
This government will keep working to ensure that working Canberrans have the protections they deserve. We will keep working to ensure that our regulator has the tools and resources necessary to enforce our safety rules in all workplaces, and we will keep working across our community to promote a culture of safety. Safety is everyone’s responsibility, it is a priority, and we will keep investing in new ways to provide even stronger protections for working Canberrans.
Sport—swimming pools
MR MILLIGAN: My question is to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. Minister, on 18 January a chlorine leak was reported at the Canberra Olympic Pool in Civic. Visitors were evacuated. ACT Fire and Rescue attended, and HAZMAT crews were
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