Hon. Kate Doust questions the Minister for Commerce regarding the impact of Commonwealth's Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 on WA workplaces, particularly concerning Comcare licences and mining safety. The Minister deflects the questions, stating they fall under Commonwealth jurisdiction.

AnsweredQoN 821Legislative Council
Asked
19 August 2014
Portfolio
Commerce

QuestionView source ↗

SAFETY,
REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2014
821. Hon KATE DOUST to the
Minister for Commerce:
I refer to the commonwealth Safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 that was read into the Parliament
of Australia on 19 March 2014.
(1) How many
Comcare safety inspectors are there for the whole of Australia, by state, and
what industries do they cover?
(2) What steps
has the Western Australian government taken to analyse the impact of regulation
on health and safety standards in Western Australian workplaces, particularly
in relation to new Comcare licences?
(3) What steps
will the Western Australian government take to make sure that state-based
specialist safety knowledge and health and safety monitoring in the mining
industry is retained in workplaces of Comcare licensees?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the
question.
(1) These
issues are not within the jurisdiction of the state government or the Minister
for Commerce. As the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation
Amendment Bill 2014 is commonwealth legislation, and Comcare is a commonwealth
agency, these questions should be directed to the commonwealth government.
(2) The state
government does not have responsibility for workplaces within the jurisdiction
of the commonwealth government. However, the occupational safety and health
laws in Western Australia are similar to those operating in the commonwealth's
jurisdiction, being the model work health and safety laws, and there is not
expected to be any difference in safety standards between workplaces in the
different jurisdictions.
(3) This
matter should be directed to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum, noting my
answer to (1).

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more