Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Exit Arrangements) Bill 2015. Taking this bill at face value, the measures in it may seem reasonable. According to the government summary of the bill, it amends the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 to:    provide for financial and other arrangements for a Commonwealth authority to exit the Comcare scheme; clarify that premiums for current Commonwealth authorities and entities should be calculated having regard to the principle that current and prospective liabilities should be fully funded by Comcare-retained funds and so much of the consolidated revenue fund as would be available; change the appointment process and membership of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission; and make consequential and technical amendments.

However, this bill cannot be considered in isolation. It needs to be considered in the context of two other bills which are currently before the parliament and with which the government is seeking to attack workers' access to workers compensation. On an initial reading of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment (Exit Arrangements) Bill 2015, the bill is going to strip away compensation from Commonwealth workers. It seems we need to learn a lot more about this bill, but from what we know about it already the Australian Greens have some very deep concerns. The Australian Lawyers Alliance is reported to have described the proposed changes as harsh, unfair and an attack on the rights of injured workers. The ACT government, currently one of the biggest participants in Comcare, is intending to exit the scheme, affecting many workers. Concerns have been raised by unions, the Victorian government and others about how this bill is going to impact on workers, and in particular how it is going to interact with other legislation that the government has brought forward.

It is unacceptable that there are so many outstanding concerns and uncertainties, and given these concerns—and given that the Senate committee that inquired into this bill only finished its deliberations last week and was not able to deal with all these matters—it is the view of the Australian Greens that this bill should not proceed at this time. These uncertainties are unacceptable. It is not just a bit of theoretical legislation we are dealing with here—it is people's lives and it is people's wellbeing that we are legislating for; it is people's ability to have proper compensation if they suffer at work injuries which are likely to affect their wellbeing in the immediate future and often for the rest of their lives. These are serious matters. The parliament owes it to every individual that will potentially be affected by this bill to make sure that this legislation is right and is going to give people the opportunity to continue to live their lives with the care and the compensation that they require.

It is our view that the bill needs to be further examined before it proceeds to make sure that there are no unintended consequences, particularly as the legislation relates to other bills and issues. Given these factors, and given that we have a government that really does seem to have a clear intention to undermine workers compensation and to not give workers the rights that they deserve, the Australian Greens are not prepared to support this bill at this time. (Time expired)