Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I am hoping to provide the Senate with some more accurate information, if that is immediately available, Senator Williams. Whilst I wait for that I will deal with some other aspects of Senator Abetz's commentary.

In relation to the consultation with respect to the senior vice-presidents, I recall the meeting of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council on 15 October where these appointments were raised with that consultative council and, indeed, announced if they were not announced prior to that. So from 15 October those organisations that may have had some critical concerns about that issue, such as Senator Abetz claims that the Law Council may have, and whether they would have had an impact on the view of the Independents is probably quite another question. But it is not as if the government launched these positions out of nowhere. It is not as if there was some private conversation between the minister and the vice-president and no further consultation. And it is not uncommon for there to be a one-day legislation inquiry on not greatly complex legislation and generally agreed non-controversial recommendations from an independent review.

Senator Abetz may want to progress the debate about why time was not made for the Law Council. I am not sure but I do not recall that having been made an issue by his colleagues on that committee. I do not recall a concern that there was not sufficient time or that the appropriate witnesses were not there. So I suspect on this point that Senator Abetz is simply making a stab in the dark, trying to find one way to undermine what is generally an agreed process and trying to characterise a concern of Justice Ross's that the government is responding to as something that was just a private conversation between the minister and Justice Ross, which is just absolutely ludicrous.

Let me deal with the cost figures that he raised. The Fair Work Australia general manager is conducting an internal review to determine what will be required to change the name, including the cost. They have an internal committee process established to do this. It is not complete yet. I will take an exact figure on that point on notice. I note that some estimates have been bandied around about what the cost would be for the appointment of the senior vice-presidents. On advice, as I understand it the costs that may be involved there will be determined or are yet to be determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.