Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Many awards provide for employers to make up the difference between the court attendance fees and the juror’s normal pay and provide scope for leave from work to attend court when required. In addition, jury service arrangements can also be negotiated between employers and employees through workplace agreements. For instance, latest data for current collective agreements reveal that half of all employees covered have negotiated jury service make-up payments. It is open to state and territory governments—and they are all Labor—to deal with any problems of availability for jury service—for example, by increasing attendance payments to jurors. So, as I set out earlier, the simple answer to the honourable senator’s question is no, and I have now outlined the reasons that the answer to her false assertion is no.