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

by leave—I move Greens amendments (10) and (11) on sheet 5729:

(10)  Clause 139, page 136 (line 16), at the end of subclause (1), add:

           ; (k)    exceptional matters where the circumstances of the industry or sector warrant such matters being included in the award.

(11)  Clause 143, page 140 (after line 4), after subclause (7), insert:

        (8)    To avoid doubt, nothing in this section is intended to exclude from award coverage employees in new or emerging occupations that have not previously been covered by awards but whose work is of a character that would warrant modern award coverage.

This issue relates to the issue we have just been talking about—modern awards. We are revisiting an issue here that we raised during discussions on the transition to Forward with Fairness legislation last year. We propose that Fair Work Australia should be able to include in awards exceptional matters.

The limiting of award matters is another hangover, we believe, from the Howard years. We believe there should be more flexibility in the content of modern awards and the government should leave it to Fair Work Australia, with input from stakeholders, to ensure an appropriate and relevant safety net. We have a related concern that the bill makes unlawful terms in awards relating to right of entry. I know we have been dealing with right of entry through the evening. Apart from the confusion that may exist from the fact that other terms related to unions may require unions to enter premises—for example, to attend inductions or meet employees under a dispute resolution clause—we see no justification for awards to be banned from including better right-of-entry provisions if that is what the practice is or if it is appropriate in a particular industry or occupation.

In terms of item 12 we have particular concern about the modern award system and its ability to adjust to changing workplaces, both in relation to content and coverage. We seek a clarification of clause 143 that emerging industries or occupations will be able to be covered by modern awards—that is, that Fair Work Australia will be able to make new awards or extend coverage of current awards to such industries. Our amendment merely seeks to clarify and make explicit that that is the case. These concerns, as I said earlier, were issues that we raised at the time that we were discussing the Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill 2008 last year. We expressed concerns at the time about some of the provisions of the award modernisation process and we have just had a long discussion about it. I appreciate that. But we are concerned about some of the rights and conditions that are being lost through the award modernisation process and believe that these amendments enhance the award modernisation process.