[Greens-Media] Safe Work Australia needs to be fair

[Norton, Tim (Sen R. Siewert)]

Safe Work Australia needs to be fair
Monday 13th October 2008

The Australian Greens said today that the Government's proposal for a
new national Occupational Health & Safety body needed to be strengthened
to provide for better representation of workers and employers and
increased independence.
 
"Robust and effective occupational health and safety laws and practices
are vital for the social and economic health of our workplaces and
Australians and their families," said Australian Greens Senator Rachel
Siewert.
 
"The Greens welcome the commitment of the government and the state
ministers to developing a national harmonised OHS system."
 
"Under the last Government we saw a systematic attack on the basic
principles of OHS practice - genuine tripartitism, independence and the
involvement of unions at the workplace level," said Senator Siewert.
 
"The Rudd government has a responsibility to rectify the errors of the
past and ensure that Safe Work Australia is a return to a national,
robust and independent OHS body."
 
"We will be moving amendments to restore the representative numbers of
workers and employers, remove the additional voting rights of the
Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments and strengthen the
independence of Safe Work Australia," she concluded.
 
For more information or media enquiries please call Tim Norton on 0418
401 180
senator.siewert at aph.gov.au  |  www.rachelsiewert.org.au  |
www.greensmps.org.au