Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendments (1) to (4) on sheet 1993 together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (line 28), omit paragraph 16B(1)(c).

(2) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (after line 29), after paragraph 16B(1)(d), insert:

(da) 1 member representing small business;

(db) 2 members representing regional, rural and remote Australia;

(3) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (after line 32), after subsection 16B(2), insert:

(2A) In appointing the members of the Ministerial Advisory Board, the Minister must ensure that the members include a representative from each State, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

(4) Schedule 1, item 37, page 18 (line 4), omit "2 years", substitute "12 months".

These amendments will remove clause 16B(1)(c) of the bill as passed on the third reading in the House, which removes the mandate for four employer organisation representatives on the ministerial advisory board of Jobs and Skills Australia. In its place, however, our amendment creates new subsections mandating a representative for small business and two members representing the interests of rural, remote and regional Australia. The amendment will also add section 16B(2), which ensures that each state and the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory must be geographically represented within the distribution of the board members chosen under section 16B(1).

The amendments amend subsection (1) of section 29A of the bill to ensure that the review into the operation of the act commences before the end of the period of 12 months, instead of the two-year period currently scheduled in the bill. The opposition believes that small businesses are more able than, say, employee organisations to advise on skills shortages across the country, given they are at the front line of contemporary changes to workforce and labour needs. Similarly, regional Australia is disproportionately affected by the skills and labour force shortages. It is critical to ensure that representatives on the board can provide direct advice to the minister and the commissioner to help resolve these critical issues as quickly as possible.

Our amendments also add, as I said, a new section 16B(2), which ensures that each state and the ACT and the NT must be geographically represented within the distribution of the board members chosen under section 16B(1). Skill shortages, as we know, affect all states and territories. As such, each should have that geographical representation to ensure that they can advise on the unique challenges in differing areas of our incredibly large country. Our amendments also amend subsection (1) of 29A of the bill to ensure that the review into the operation of this act commences before the end of the period of 12 months. The current legislation could allow the minister to push the review out beyond the next election. We say that this is not appropriate, considering that this bill is a key election commitment of the government, and the public should be able to have a chance to scrutinise the review of this promise. I commend the amendments to the chamber.