Occupational Health And Safety Bill Set To Go - Berry

Wayne Berry - Opposition Spokesperson on Industrial Relations

Media Statement - 5 November 1999

Labor Shadow Industrial Relations Minister Wayne Berry has called on all MLA's to support his Occupational Health and Safety (Amendment) Bill 1999 to carry out the recommendation of the Coroner's Report on the Hospital Implosion which was handed down yesterday.

The report recommends that: -

• "WorkCover and DGU (Dangerous Goods Unit) should be independent statutory authority with appropriate funding and resources. Both bodies should be created as one autonomous statutory unit independent of any departmental control answerable to a Minister of the Legislative Assembly."

In June this year Mr Berry introduced a bill into the ACT Legislative Assembly to establish WorkCover as an independent statutory authority.

Mr Berry said today, "Yesterday after the release of the report I issued instructions to Parliamentary Counsel to review the legislation in the context of the Coroner's Report to ensure that Coroner's concerns are addressed in the legislation.

"Since 1995 I have called for WorkCover to be an independent unit. We have seen evidence in the past of political interference and there was evidence of this to the Implosion Coronial Inquiry. But the Liberals have persistently refused.

"I had the legislation drafted earlier this year and it has been sitting in the Assembly waiting until after the Implosion Coronial Inquiry was handed down before being debated and passed.

"The way is now clear for the Assembly to promptly pass the bill to implement the Coroners recommendations," Mr Berry concluded.