Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just over a month ago, 28 April was International Workers Memorial Day, a day when we remember those workers who never came home after leaving for work. It is a day to remember those who have been diagnosed and perished with cancer and other illnesses, sometimes decades after their exposure at work. It is a day to remember the thousands of Australian workers who have been maimed in the pursuit of making a living, some bearing their scars and disablement for the rest of their lives. This day is an opportunity for us to pause and think about what really matters—those we work with, our families, our friends and those we love—and an opportunity to evaluate what is important and to reaffirm the value we as Australians place on life. The 169 workers who were traumatically killed at work, according to the last complete report, were all victims of needless and preventable incidents. The AMWU this year has called on all to use this day to recommit ourselves to strive to do what our gut often tells us is right, despite it not always being what is popular or comfortable.

In the parliament we have a responsibility to ensure that our work, health and safety laws are achieving their objectives. Principal among those is to protect workers while they're engaging in work. We need to protect Australian workers. We need to introduce industrial laws into this parliament that make work safer. We need to stop workers from being exposed to dangerous chemicals and ensure that exposure standards are health based, not an artificial upper limit. In the case of welding fumes, under the workplace exposure standards our welders are notionally allowed to breathe in up to 11 grams of a known— (Time expired)