Commonwealth use of external affairs powers slammed

22/11/93

The Western Australian Government submission to the Senate inquiry into the Federal industrial relations legislation has slammed the Commonwealth's use of external affairs powers to override the States.

Labour Relations Minister Graham Kierath said the State's verbal submission, made today by telephone hook-up, highlighted that the unprecedented use of the International Labour Organisation Convention 158, which was tied to the use of external affairs powers, would destroy trust between the Commonwealth Government and most of the States.

"The Federal legislation is a recipe for litigation, will create uncertainty and instability and the use of the ILO convention for national minimum conditions exceeds the intention of the convention," Mr Kierath said.

"It is nothing short of unsatisfactory and certainly dishonest."

Mr Kierath said the inquiry had been told that Federal Industrial Relations Minister Laurie Brereton had attended a meeting with him in Perth in June and given an undertaking not to legislate to override the State if the WA legislation met the relevant ILO conventions.

"With this promise in mind, the WA legislation was carefully framed to ensure that it did meet those standards.  Amendments were also added to provide compensation in lieu of reinstatement for unfair dismissal.

"It is extremely significant that in the context of this approach by the WA Government to comply with Convention 158, the Commonwealth has used the same convention to impose its will on the State in a fraudulent and intrusive fashion.

"Convention 131 concerning minimum wage fixing, which the Commonwealth claimed the State did not meet, requires no more than a legal minimum wage be set by a competent authority.  Clearly, the WA Minimum Conditions of Employment Bill exceeds this minimum ILO standard."

The Minister said that while the Commonwealth had attempted to pick holes in the WA legislation on the basis that it did not comply with ILO conventions - a claim which was wrong - it was in fact the Commonwealth legislation which abused a number of conventions.

These included Convention 87 relating to Freedom of Association and Convention 98 which concerned the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

"We are sure that the Senate inquiry will see the Federal legislation for what it is - a blatant abuse of external affairs powers and the system of ILO conventions in order to crush States' rights," Mr Kierath said.

Media contact:  Brian Coulter 222 9595 or 481 2133