Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia has had its fourth-hottest summer on record. In Victoria, we saw temperatures exceed 45 degrees in Melbourne's western suburbs, and a record high of 48.9 degrees was recorded in Victoria's north-west. Our Caroline Springs CFA went out and fought the Harcourt and Longwood bushfires. For that, I commend and thank our incredible volunteers. They should have been the only people working in extreme heat conditions, but they weren't. There are still instances of workplaces failing to meet the general duty for employers in ensuring that workers are not being exposed to health and safety risks, and that includes risks related to heat. Working in heat, especially extreme heat, is a significant work health and safety concern. I know that my husband, Chris, who is a local sparky, had to pull from his own annual leave to avoid working in dangerous extreme heat conditions this summer.

I know that other members of my community had to risk their health and safety too. They told me about it at a recent meeting with Transport Workers' Union delegates and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Airport workers told us that temperatures on the tarmac can exceed 50 degrees. I'd like to thank the TWU delegates for raising this important issue as well as the minister for coming out to Melbourne's western suburbs and making the time to hear directly from workers in my community. Because listening to the people who live these issues day to day is where real change starts. I know this, and Labor knows this. I thank the House.

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