Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Kooyong for her long engagement on this question, a debate to which she brings many, many years of experience. I genuinely thank her for that.

As members know, including members on the crossbench who have taken a deep interest in the bill's progress and the debate leading into its introduction, the Senate committee of inquiry into this bill reported on Friday. We're going through that report. There's significant overlap between a number of amendments the members of the crossbench are proposing in the bill today and the Senate inquiry materially. I have a lot of sympathy for a number of measures contained in some of these amendments. I want to address a couple of them, though.

We don't support what I understand to be the impact of the member for Kooyong's amendment in relation to occupational health and safety. As I'm sure the member knows, the interim CDC has already assumed responsibility for things like dust diseases and the establishment of a registry in this area. We do see a role for the CDC in managing the public health impacts of poor occupational health and safety, but the government's view is that Safe Work Australia is still the proper place for the development of policy and standards and for enforcement in relation to occupational health. But, certainly, we are keen for my portfolio through the CDC to do things like manage the emerging public health impacts associated, for example, with silicosis and other areas of public health.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the remarks the member has made in relation to the climate health impacts. I've been an advocate in this area for many years, as a spokesperson for the Labor Party on climate and since shifting to the health portfolio as well. That will be a piece of work for the CDC.

We don't support the detail of the amendment the member for Kooyong has proposed today, although I suspect there will be an ongoing debate about that, and a number of other matters the member has raised, as this bill progresses, as I hope it will, to the other place. I want to ensure members on the crossbench, as we continue to engage around the passage of this bill through the other place, that I am keen to continue an open dialogue with members of the crossbench in this chamber as the government reaches a final position in relation to some of the amendments in the Senate.

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