Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, in that answer you indicated that you're undertaking work to improve the workplace health and safety framework. I understand that. That is not what Kate Jenkins recommended. I think you understand that also. In your response to the Respect@Work report, you noted that a positive duty already exists. I think that's disputed by the evidence that was before the commissioner. But you did say that you would assess whether amendments would create further complexity, uncertainty or duplication. Am I to conclude from your answer that that assessment is completed—that you've got no intention at all of creating a positive duty, you are just kicking it off into the long grass, you've already made a decision that these issues are to be dealt with through workplace health and safety arrangements and you have no interest in progressing this at all? I think it would be better to be upfront about that.