Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aged Care, Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to indicate that Labor will be supporting the two amendments that we are dealing with at the moment. They reflect the comments that I made during the second reading debate. Senator Kemp made a comment that these amendments would increase the number of people on the council—that is not necessarily so. As Senator Allison has indicated, we recognise there are people with multiple expertises who can be on the council and therefore cover off the three particular items of expertise that are indicated in these amendments.

Senator Kemp actually used the example of environment: that we would need a person with expertise in environmental issues from time to time. Can I say to Senator Kemp that the interface and interrelationship between the environment and human health is ongoing and will never be severed. It is not an issue that you can have from time to time. The reality is that we will always have to consider environmental questions when we are talking about human health. To say that we might need someone who knows something about, say, climate change from time to time indicates that you can turn on and off the environment and its relationship with human health. That is not the case and we think it is extremely important that someone with environmental experience is able to bring that expertise to deliberations of the council on an ongoing basis.

I note that Senator Kemp did not use the example of someone with trade union experience because, in my view, this is simply a philosophical position of the government—they just get rid of everything that has to do with the representation of workers and workers’ experience. This is another case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Someone with experience in a trade union, as Senator Allison said, would bring an important understanding of the operations of occupational workplace health and safety.

I also note that there is a move for the NHMRC to increasingly build links with business. That is to be commended and lauded but part of that process, surely, is that we make sure that we are considering the role of those people who will work in those new partnerships. Yes, we are really pleased that business is going to be represented on the council in order to facilitate the sort of thinking that will move the NHMRC to another level, but at the same time let us not forget that there is a group of workers who are going to be involved in that transition and their needs also need to be represented. Labor will be supporting these two amendments and I hope the government will be able to respond to the issues that we have raised.