Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

But there is a difference, though, because from a compensation point of view, if someone has a back sprain without having a pre-existing condition, that is quite different from someone who has a back sprain with a pre-existing condition of spondylosis because a person who has a back strain with spondylosis would have a more significant incapacity by virtue of that pre-existing condition. There could be circum­stances where a person who sustains a back strain in the absence of a pre-existing condition such as spondylosis is able to continue to work, might have a bit of pain and is suffering a bit of discomfort but has no incapacity; whereas, if that person has a pre-existing condition such as spondylosis, the potential for incapacity, the potential for that person not to be able to work, the potential for that person to have a long-term ongoing disability that would otherwise have been quiescent but for the strain by virtue of that person's spondylosis is quite different. So I am not sure how that would work in the context of the practical application of schedule 2. I am not sure if Senator Ronaldson, representing the coalition as the shadow minister on this legislation, would have similar concerns. I do not know whether spondylosis and back strain is the most elegant example or the most useful example, but maybe I am wrong.