Tuesday, 7 March 2023
Questions without notice and ministers statements
WorkSafe Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria
John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC. Can the minister guarantee that there will be no cuts to services or entitlements for injured Victorian workers following the government’s mismanagement of the WorkCover scheme?
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! I would ask those at the table to cease interjecting across the table.
Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Government Services, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC, Minister for Consumer Affairs) (14:19): On this side of the house, the Andrews Labor government will always stand up for workers to ensure they are safe at work and to provide the supports they need if injured. We are incredibly proud of our workers compensation –
A member interjected.
Danny PEARSON: You are quite right.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition! Order!
Danny PEARSON: We are incredibly proud of the workers compensation scheme, but the reality is that this scheme was built in the 1980s and it is not fit for purpose in 2023. Now, if you look at the comments today –
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, you asked your question. I expect that you want to hear the answer, as do I.
Danny PEARSON: As Paul Guerra from the Victorian chamber has indicated today, the scheme currently is not sustainable, and we must ensure the scheme is viable. Mr Guerra also recognised that there have been no premium increases for a number of years now.
The SPEAKER: The member for Sandringham is warned.
Danny PEARSON: I also note that Mr Hilakari, the secretary of Trades Hall, indicated that there are clever ways to intervene early to get injured workers back to work.
Now, the scheme needs work. It is not fit for purpose, and that is why we are doing this work to try and identify a pathway forward. It is simply not sustainable. It is not sustainable to keep putting billions of dollars into this scheme. That is why we need to do the work to find a way forward. But we will not be taking lectures from those opposite, who all of a sudden have developed an interest in WorkSafe. Those opposite abolished a common-law right for seriously injured workers.
Peter Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on the issue of relevance, the question was very specific about the minister giving a guarantee that there would be no cuts to services or entitlements with the mismanagement of WorkCover by the Andrews government. I would ask you to bring him back to answering that question, please.
The SPEAKER: The minister was being relevant to the question as it related to changes to WorkSafe and the TAC.
Danny PEARSON: As I have indicated, the Victorian chamber recognises this scheme is not viable the way it is currently constituted. Trades Hall recognises that more work can be done to support seriously injured workers. We on this side of the house recognise you cannot keep putting in $1Â billion a year each and every year to support this scheme. So we need to do the work. We recognise the fact that the premium charged here in Victoria is at 1.27Â per cent, which is lower than what it was 20Â years ago.
The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition!
Danny PEARSON: So work needs to be done. The conversation has started. That work will be ongoing, because having a viable workers compensation scheme in the state of Victoria is a hallmark of a civilised society. Again, we are not going to be taking lectures from those opposite. When they were in previously, they abolished common-law rights for seriously injured workers. That is what they did.
Members interjecting.
James Newbury: Speaker, the member needs to calm down.
The SPEAKER: Manager of Opposition Business, what is your point of order?
James NEWBURY: On a point of order, Speaker, on standing order 110, twice now the minister has strayed into irrelevant material. You have asked him to return to the question, and I would ask you to ask him to return to the question.
Daniel Andrews: On the point of order, Speaker, the question related to benefits and entitlements for injured workers, and the minister is speaking directly to cuts made by a previous Liberal government. They are the history of this state. As uncomfortable as they are for those who presided over those shameful changes to the WorkCover scheme, they are the history of this state and directly relevant.
Daniel Andrews: Despite the shouting of the member for Hawthorn, they are relevant. They can shout as much as they want, but we do not forget their record and we never will.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier will come to order. I ask members who are making points of order to be succinct. The minister to continue; he is being relevant to the question.
Danny PEARSON: Thank you, Speaker. The government’s priority is to ensure that the scheme continues to be contemporary and fit for purpose for the workers and the needs of workers. The reality is that the premiums now are the lowest in the country, apart from Queensland, and the reality is that the workers compensation scheme challenges that are faced here in Victoria are happening right across the nation. But the reality is that we are working with unions, with employers and with advocates to make sure that the scheme continues to provide good outcomes for employers and workers, a reliable scheme now and into the future. Our priority will always be making sure that workers have a safe work environment and that in the event that they are injured they get the support that they need to be able to recover.
John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:25): Will the minister guarantee Victorian businesses that the average premium rate will not rise as a result of the government’s mismanagement of the WorkCover scheme?
Danny PEARSON (Essendon – Minister for Government Services, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC, Minister for Consumer Affairs) (14:25): What I would say is that 20 years ago the premium rate was at 2 per cent of payroll. It currently is 1.27 per cent of payroll. Claims have trebled in cost since 2010, and I would just refer the member back to the comments of the Victorian chamber that there have been no premium increases for a number of years now.
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: I again ask those at the table to cease interjecting across the table. It is very distracting.