Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Greens amendment (1) on sheet 5451:

Schedule 2, item 9, page 90 (after line 17), after paragraph 576A(2)(b), insert:

           (ba)    must ensure award coverage to all employees, except those employees who, because of the seniority of their role, have traditionally not been covered by an award; and

I did not ask about this when we were addressing some general questions, because I thought it would be more appropriate to talk about it when we were debating the awards section of the bill. Also, I was keen for us to get going on the amendments, as we had had a rather long general discussion. I do not intend to draw out the debate too long; I would just like some specific answers to questions before we start. At this stage I am specifically interested in clause 576L. I am just trying to clear up exactly what it means. It says:

A modern award may include terms about the matters referred to in subsection 576J(1) or (2) or section 576K only to the extent that the terms provide a fair minimum safety net.

I would like to know who decides that, and how we should be interpreting that statement.