Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I take the support I have been given from the honourable member opposite but there is always a question of making sure that we get the balance right. We need to make sure, in any regulations we impose on business and industry, that there is a recognition that there has to be a common-sense balance. I think business owners in the modern era very much recognise their important responsibility for their workers in the workplace.

My electorate of Gippsland is one of those which is probably very much a microcosm of some of the hazards that workers may face in the workplace. The regional industries that exist in Gippsland are probably some of the most potentially hazardous that you will face anywhere in Australia. We have the timber industry, we have the fishing industry, oil and gas, defence operations at East Sale, open-cut coal mines and the power generation sector, heavy vehicle operators, a significant construction sector and, of course, the agriculture sector, which has been one of those areas where it has been very difficult to drive improvements in occupational health and safety.

I think the sad part about this debate tonight is the fact which many members have already raised that 290 Australians are killed in the workplace every year and around 135,000 Australians are injured at work. It is one area where I do not think we can ever relax our guard. It is an area where we need eternal vigilance. It is a huge economic cost, obviously, but also the social impact of workplace injuries and deaths is something that is immeasurable. In making my brief contribution to the House this evening I recognise that the members on both sides have a very strong interest in occupational health and safety and that the harmonisation of these laws is something that there is broad support for across the chamber. Having said that, I will foreshadow that the coalition does intend to move some amendments at a later stage in the debate. We have some significant concerns that bear further consideration by the government.

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