Victorian Political News		www.robertclark.net

STATE OPPOSITION WILL NOT OPPOSE WORKCOVER BILL

News Release - Tuesday 9th May 2000

The State Opposition will not oppose the WorkCover Bill currently before the Parliament, Shadow Minister for WorkCover Robert Clark said today.

Mr Clark said scrutiny and consultation of the bill found it contained a wide range of flaws and anomalies affecting both injured workers and employers, such as differing levels of compensation depending on whether or not an injured worker can prove negligence, and the impact of increased premiums on Victorian business. But he said the Opposition would not block the bill.

"If the Government insists on proceeding with this Bill, we will accept the outcome of the democratic process. Labor is now in Government and reintroducing so-called common law legal actions was probably the most prominent legislative issue on which they campaigned.

"We have therefore decided not to block the reintroduction of so-called common law legal actions. We will also not attempt to rewrite from Opposition the detail of the new arrangements for common law and benefit structure, given their financial, legal and actuarial complexity.

"But the Opposition will closely monitor the changes and hold the Government to account for the consequences of its legislation."