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

I might commence by dealing in general with the government's response to these opposition amendments and then I will move to answer the questions that Senator Abetz asked at the conclusion, as well as perhaps addressing a few of the other observations he made in that process which do not stand up to any serious scrutiny. I know that Senator Abetz thinks that he has got case closed on balance and appointments to this tribunal but I would suggest that he is making quite a few cheap political points that would not stand up to any serious scrutiny.

The government does not support the opposition's proposed amendments. The two new vice-president roles to be created within the tribunal were recommended by the President of Fair Work Australia, Justice Ross. In establishing Fair Work Australia, the government took the decision to abolish the formal statutory positions of vice-president and senior vice-president, as Senator Abetz has indicated. Vice-presidents and senior deputy vice-presidents became deputy presidents within the Fair Work Australia structure. Let us remove that illusion around the seniority issue that Senator Abetz has raised.

In the transition arrangements in moving from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to Fair Work Australia former senior deputy presidents and vice-presidents were entitled to retain their former entitlements and titles. Indeed, this gives me the opportunity to reflect on Senator Abetz's visit to the 1980s around appointments and remind those listening and the Senate that in the transition from the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to Fair Work Australia all positions were maintained—complete balance, complete reflection of the existing arrangements. Those arrangements had principally been established under the Howard government with a track record I do not intend spending some detail visiting; I think it is pretty much a matter of record.

Justice Ross recommended to the government providing for two senior positions within the tribunal to ensure senior legal specialists with high-level expertise were attracted to Fair Work Australia, and, I stress, to assist him in the administration and management of the tribunal. Senator Abetz likes to highlight some of the issues facing Fair Work Australia. He likes to highlight the need for independence and the need for administrative and management improvements. This is indeed the solution that Justice Ross has raised in relation to some of those issues. So it surprises me now that the opposition seek to oppose the president of Fair Work Australia in dealing with some of the internal management issues that the opposition themselves have canvassed.

Fair Work Australia deals with important and complex matters of industrial law and should be resourced accordingly. In addition to matters of industrial law, Fair Work is undertaking a broad range of functions, including the new Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal jurisdiction, a major projects panel and a new comprehensive stakeholder engagement model. Creating these positions will assist Fair Work Australia to deal with such matters. The criteria for appointment as vice-presidents will be set out in the Fair Work Act and are reflected in the bill. This reflects the approach taken in respect of other members of Fair Work Australia and previous iterations of legislation.

The process for selecting the two new vice-presidents will be open and transparent. The government has committed to a merit-based selection process for these appointments. The positions will be advertised publicly and anyone will be able to apply for the positions. An advisory panel consisting of senior officers of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and the APSC will recommend a short list of applicants and the incumbent minister will then seek cabinet's endorsement of the appointments, as is the usual practice. The endorsed candidates will then be recommended to the Governor-General and to the Executive Council.

I dealt with Senator Abetz's brief visit to the 1980s on the issue of appointments and highlighted probably the most recent principal example of how the Prime Minister has met the commitment she made in relation to balance within Fair Work Australia, to be the Fair Work Commission. But I think I need to address in a little more detail Senator Abetz's claim that there is a perception that Fair Work Australia is, in his words, being stacked. Whilst he relates to some internal memos or communications from some existing commissioners, the public record on recent appointments highlights that there is a general satisfaction with the balance that has been established within Fair Work Australia. I have in front of me three press releases. The first one relates to ACCI: 'Employers welcome Fair Work appointments'. Another is dated February this year: 'Employers commend Shorten on Geoff Bull's appointment to Fair Work Australia'. A further newspaper article in the Australian in February this year: 'All sides approve of Fair Work appointees'. So I do not think that the case is quite as established as Senator Abetz seems to think it is. I do add some further context, since Senator Abetz referred to the Prime Minister's remarks. She referred to ministerial advisers. If I a recall correctly, there was a chief of staff of Minister Reith who was appointed to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission as registrar.

The government has gone nowhere near the excesses of the Howard government in the balance that it has introduced into Fair Work Australia and the Fair Work system. We have maintained appointments that were made under the Howard government. The appointments made to the Fair Work Ombudsman and the commission have been balanced and fair.

The ongoing problem that I might highlight to Senator Abetz—as a challenge more than anything else—is finding high-calibre women candidates to appoint, particularly on the employer side. He might like to assist the minister and me in encouraging more candidates to seek appointment to the tribunal. This is a challenge that we have raised with employer organisations, and we hope that over time there will be some improvements in that respect.

Senator Abetz asked and then answered his own question on entitlements, and we will be waiting for the Remuneration Tribunal to establish some detail there, but he did seek an assurance on judges' pension entitlements with respect to existing office holders, and I am advised that if existing office holders who carry such entitlements are appointed to the positions the government will, through regulation, ensure that those arrangements are preserved.