Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition opposes these amendments. We say in large part that the new reinstatement provisions are impractical and do not take into account the business dynamic of the associated entity or any restructure. They may also lead to a redundancy situation if there is no position available for the returning employee. There is a suggestion that there could be a reinstatement by an associated entity and I am just wondering about the potential of that. To make the case, let us say there is a company that runs two types of operations: one in southern Tasmania and one in the Torres Strait Islands. If the dismissal were to take place in Tasmania, but there were a vacancy or possibility of employment in this business’s Torres Strait Island enterprise, would that be a possibility and who would need to incur the costs of removal et cetera for that employee? I provide that as an extreme hypothetical to make the case to see if that would be the potential reach and application of this amendment.