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

I move Greens amendment (6) on sheet 5451:

(6)

Schedule 2, item 9, page 96 (line 8), at the end of subsection 576J(1), add:       ; (k) exceptional matters where the circumstances of the industry or sector warrant such matters being included in the award.

This specifically relates to exceptional matters. We believe the matters that are listed to be considered in modern awards are too limiting. The ACTU gave examples in the committee inquiry of important industry-specific conditions that will be lost in the award modernisation process unless the AIRC is given discretion to include such matters where it is appropriate. We believe there should be more flexibility in the making of these modern awards and the government should trust the wisdom of the AIRC and their knowledge of awards in industries as well as input from stakeholders, ensuring there is an appropriate and relevant safety net. This is the issue around exceptional matters—whether the circumstances of an industry or sector warrant such matters being included in the award. There was a lot of debate and discussion around flexibility, and in fact I referred to it in my speech on the second reading. This is one area where we believe there needs to be a widening of the scope of the awards to allow for exceptional matters. There was a considerable body of evidence given during the inquiry around the need for exceptional matters to be included in the process of award modernisation.

Question negatived.