Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In October 2009 the federal Labor government signed a heads of agreement with the Australian Services Union which made a number of commitments about supporting an equal remuneration case to be considered by Fair Work Australia for non-government social and community services workers. The heads of agreement included a commitment to preserve the rates of pay achieved in the Queensland equal pay case.

The Australian Services Union lodged an application for the equal remuneration case with Fair Work Australia in March this year. The application is for the rates of pay that were achieved in the Queensland equal pay case in 2009. The effects of the increases are different in each state but are in the same general range as in Queensland—that is, increases of between 18 per cent and 37 per cent. The Australian Services Union has put to Fair Work Australia that the work done by workers covered by the Social and Community Services Award is undervalued as against comparable work. The Australian Services Union says that 87 per cent of these workers are women and historically their work has been undervalued because of the gender of the workforce.

I met with the Australian Services Union in the middle of this year after they contacted me seeking my support for their application. I agree with the ASU that workers in the social, community and disability services sector do work of great importance in our community, and that this work has tended to be undervalued. Caring for those with a disability, for example, is very arduous and yet it is really very important work, essential to giving family members and other carers the respite they need to be able to keep on going.

I therefore wrote in July to the honourable Jenny Macklin, as the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, expressing my support for the ASU application. I further said I supported funding for the outcome of the Fair Work Australia equal remuneration case and funding for federal programs in Queensland that were subject to the Queensland equal pay case. Of course, in July the government went into caretaker mode and the reply I received was simply a process reply from a departmental officer. So I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my support for the ASU’s equal remuneration case for social, community and disability services sector workers.

I note that the federal government’s submission to Fair Work Australia indicates that the government is committed to pay equity; acknowledges the vital services that the social and community services sector delivers to some of the most vulnerable members of our society; recognises that much of the work performed in the sector is undervalued; and is committed to working through the funding implications of any increase in wages awarded in partnership with the affected unions, employers in the sector, and the states and territories. I urge Fair Work Australia to support the ASU’s application and urge federal, state and territory governments, and non-government employers in the sector, to give effect to Fair Work Australia’s conclusions.

At a conference in Bendigo recently I addressed the topic of a national disability insurance scheme. I want to congratulate Mary Reid and the other members of the Physical Disability Council of Victoria on their efforts in organising this conference. Participating in it reinforced my admiration for the ongoing efforts of people with a physical disability and their carers. The fact is that we do not do enough to recognise their efforts. I know we are doing better than the out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach we used to take on issues of disability but we still have a long way to go. People with disability deserve the same opportunities as other Australians to participate in the community, have access to employment and live meaningful lives. Supporting the equal remuneration case will help, but we also need to give close scrutiny to the concept of a national disability insurance scheme.

My parliamentary colleague and the former Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers, the Hon. Bill Shorten, last year outlined to the National Press Club how such a scheme might work. The proposed scheme would be based on the no-fault workers’ compensation model and provide support on a needs basis for people with serious disabilities.

This is a very big idea—simple, yet exciting and visionary. It would mark a fundamental shift in the provision of services for people with disabilities. There is a lot to consider before Australia can go down this path, but I believe it is a good idea that demands serious debate and investigation to see if it could work in our nation. I am very pleased, therefore, that federal Labor has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a landmark, independent inquiry into the costs, benefits and feasibility of a national long-term care and support scheme for people with a disability. It is time to rethink the way we support people with disability in this country and I look forward to the Productivity Commission’s report.