Issue No 100 | 29 June 2001 | |
NewsDella Tries a Henry VIII
NSW Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca's will have more power over workers compensation than any minister before him. The legislation is dominated by provisions giving the Minister the power to change key aspects of the scheme through regulation - effectively by-passing Parliamentary scrutiny. This means his legislation could breach a long-standing principle dating back to the executive rule of Henry VIII, which prevents a government governing by regulation. While a breach of the Henry VIII clause is not unlawful, it is widely condemned by legal commentators for being an abuse of power by the executive. Legal experts have told Workers Online the legislation provides very broad regulation making powers which allows the Government, without proper Parliamentary scrutiny to manipulate � thresholds; � the lump sum amounts available to injured workers, including amounts for permanent impairment; � the retrospectivity of sections of the bill � legal costs; � costs of medical reports � the powers of the Commission "These are extraordinary powers for a Parliament to bestow on a Minister," our legal deep throat says. Common Law Inquiry Called Meanwhile, the government has released the Terms of Reference for the inquiry into common law in workers compensation to be chaired by Justice Terry Sheahan. The inquiry was one of the concessions John Della Bosca made during negotiations on his WorkCover cost-cutting package. The terms of reference include: - recommending the appropriate threshold for "serious and permanent injury" necessary to recover damages at common law. - to examine more efficient ways to process common law clams - to identify ways to reduce unnecessary costs in the processing of common law claims - and to investigate ways to reduce the incentive for pursuing common law claims. Unions will have four representatives on the Inquiry's steering committee. They will be John Robertson, Andrew Ferguson (CFMEU), Greg Donnelly (SDA) and Sandra Moait (NSW Nurses).
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Interview: Baptism of Fire It�s been a rugged few weeks for Labor Council�s new honcho. But John Robertson accepts it comes with the territory. Politics: Seven Days that Shook Our World Chris Christolodulou surveys the wreckage from a week when the political and industrial wings of the labour movement collided. History: History Sometimes Repeat This is not the first Labor government to attack workers compensation entitlements. Some believe the Unsworth Government�s 1987 reforms were the beginning of the end for that administration. Technology: Unions Online: Where To Now? Social Change Online's Mark McGrath goes looking for what's on the virtual horizon for the union movement. Media: The Printed Word Revisited Rowan Cahill looks at the resurgence of the workers press and the lessons for unions in better communicating with their members. Unions: Time For Second Gear The trends are in the right direction but unions are still drinking small beer in the IT world and need to allocate more resources to communications generally, argues Noel Hester. Satire: Texan Governor Faces Execution The governor of Texas has been sentenced to death row after a jury found him guilty of killing hundreds of people. Review: The Insider Neale Towart looks at a literary anti-hero who brings the factional machinations and double-deals of the ALP machine out of the back rooms and into the light.
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