Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to indicate that the opposition supports the second reading of the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. The government has circulated amendments that the opposition has had very little time to consider. However, I am able to indicate that, subject to satisfactory considerations of the amendments in the committee stage, the opposition will be in a position to support an amended bill.

In December last year, the Federal Court made a determination that the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 not only covers registered ships trading interstate or overseas but also extends to cover all employees on all registered ships if they are owned by an Australian trading corporation, an Australian financial corporation or a foreign corporation. The decision applies no matter whether they are trading in Australia or what the business of the ship may be, and that includes ships engaged in intrastate work.

Labor acknowledges that the Federal Court's decision has created uncertainty in the sector and consequently we have engaged with the industry to find a solution. This is also why we worked cooperatively with the government to expedite a Senate committee process to investigate the government's original bill. What the Senate committee process evidenced was that the original government bill was not the solution. The government had clearly not conducted a proper consultative process in the drafting of the original legislation. Key employer bodies and unions were not adequately consulted.

Acknowledging that the Federal Court's decision had created uncertainty, and after engaging with stakeholders, the opposition asked the government to urgently convene industry talks to find a workable solution. I am pleased that the government heeded the advice of the opposition and convened those talks with the Australian Shipowners Association, the Maritime Union of Australia and other interested parties. Through those consultations, the industry has been able to arrive at a solution to address the immediate impact of the Federal Court decision, which is the amended bill.

This amended bill will provide certainty. However, it is incumbent upon the government to sit down once again with the industry stakeholders, including employers and unions, to work on a longer term solution. I also note that the government has given an undertaking to monitor the impact of this legislation. Finally, I would like to thank the industry stakeholders, including the Australian Shipowners Association and the Maritime Union of Australia, for their genuine and constructive efforts.