Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Minister for Social Inclusion. Minister, there is a standing requirement that companies in the construction sector be OH&S accredited by the office of the Federal Safety Commissioner. Why, under the cover of budget day this year, did you issue a regulation to remove this important safeguard for companies tendering for school stimulus work? Why is the safety of workers on these building sites less important to the government than on other building sites?

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I presume that as the question has been asked people would want to hear the answer. The answer is—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very happy to answer the question.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Prime Minister has the call.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The shadow minister is right when he says that in the building industry we have federal safety arrangements, including the special OH&S accreditation arrangements to which he refers. Ordinarily, when the federal government puts major investment into economic stimulus or into major capital in the building industry, we deal with businesses who are already accredited under the code. When we are dealing with small capital improvements like schools, these small capital improvements tend to be under the financial level for these sorts of arrangements. What we did with the OH&S arrangements in relation to the Building the Education Revolution, in order to maximise the number of businesses that could tender quickly, was rely on the occupational health and safety arrangements around the country that apply to workers around the country. So, for example, for construction—

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Morrison interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will remind the member for Cook that he was warned by the Deputy Speaker.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

in the shadow minister’s home state of Western Australia, the occupational health and safety arrangements for workers engaged in building a Building the Education Revolution project in one of his local schools would be the Western Australian government’s occupational health and safety legislation. If he believes that the occupational health and safety legislation of the Western Australian government is deficient then perhaps he ought to take that up with his friends in the Liberal Party. Occupational health and safety law, as it applies to workers generally around the country, applies to workers who are constructing under the Building the Education Revolution program.