Mr Albanese asked the Minister for Industrial Relations, upon notice, on 21 August 1996:

(1) Further to his answer to part (4) of question No. 390 (Hansard , 21 August 1996, pages 3424-6) where in Sydney was the Workplace Relations Reform seminar held on 3 April 1996.

(2) Were individuals personally invited to attend the seminar.

(3) Who was invited to the seminar.

(4) How was the invitation list drawn up.

(5) Were any invitations declined.

(6) How many people attended the seminar and what were their names.

(7) In relation to the secondment of an officer from the Attorney- General's Department to work with the industrial relations taskforce, (a) what was the officer's name, (b) why did expenditure reach at least $75 000, (c) what was the nature of the work undertaken, (d) when was that officer first asked to undertake the work, (e) how long did it take to complete the work, (f) did his department pay the Attorney-General's Department any remuneration for the secondment; if so, what were the details, including (i) travel costs, (ii) travel arrangements and (iii) administrative costs.

(8) What sums were paid to (a) Dr Jessup QC and (b) any other advisers for legal advice to the taskforce.

(9) Has Dr Jessup QC been engaged by his department since 2 March 1996 to undertake other work; if so, (a) what was the nature of the work, (b) undertaken, (c) when was he first asked to undertake the work, (d) how long did it take to complete the work (e) what remuneration was paid by his department to Dr Jessup, including (i) travel costs, (ii) travel arrangements and (iii) administrative costs.

(10) Further to his answer to part (5) of question No. 390, is he able to say whether Professor Charles Mulvey of the University of Western Australia received any payments from that university while at the same time working as a consultant to the taskforce; if so, what was the nature and sum of that remuneration.

(11) Further to his answer to part (6) of Question No. 390, what other `leading academic and commentator on industrial relations', apart from Professor Judith Sloan, was consulted by him or his department on the reforms included in the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1996, or to provide comments on the draft legislation.

Mr Reith —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) The Workplace Relations Reform Seminar was held in the 11th floor Conference Room of the Commonwealth Parliament Offices, 70 Phillip Street, Sydney.

(2) Yes.

(3) The following persons, excluding members of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force, were invited to attend the Seminar:

Mr Michael Costa, Labor Council of NSW

Mr Les Cupper, Group General Manager, Human Resources, Commonwealth Bank    Mr Mark Duffy, NSW Treasurer's Office

Mr James Ferguson, Industrial Director, National Farmers' Federation

Mr John Hyde

Mr Greg John, Director Strategy and Corporate Relations, Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Professor Wolfgang Kasper, Australian Defence Force Academy

Mr Brendan McCarthy, Director Operations, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australian

Mr Geoff McGill, Chief Consultant Organisation, Comalco

Mr Padraic P. McGuinness, The Sydney Morning Herald

Mr Peter McLaughlin, World Competitive Practices    Professor John Niland, Vice Chancellor, University of NSW    Mr Mark Paterson, Executive Director, Retailers Council of Australia [Mr Paterson has subsequently taken up the position of Chief Executive, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry]

Mr David Russell QC

Professor Judith Sloan, Director, National Institute of Labour Studies

Mr John Stone, The Australian Financial Review

Mr Colin Thatcher, Director-General, Department of Training and Industrial Relations (Queensland) [Mr Thatcher was Chief Executive Officer, Department of Productivity and Labour Relations (WA) when invited to attend the Seminar]

Mr Alan Wood, The Australian

(4) The invitation list was developed by the three consultants engaged to work with the Task Force.

(5) Yes.

(6) Twenty three persons attended the Seminar. They were:

Mr Mike Angwin, Consultant, Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr Michael Costa

Mr Les Cupper

Mr James Ferguson

Ms Gail Finlay, Assistant Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and member of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr Jonathan Hamberger, Senior Policy Adviser to the Minister for Industrial Relations

Mr Paul Houlihan, Consultant, Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr John Hyde

Mr Greg John

Professor Wolfgang Kasper

Mr Brendan McCarthy

Mr Geoff McGill

Mr Padraic P McGuinness

Professor Charles Mulvey, Consultant, Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr Mark Paterson

Dr David Rosalky, Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and Chair of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr David Russell QC

Mr Robin Stewart-Crompton, Deputy Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and member of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr John Stone

Ms Lynne Tacy, Deputy Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and member of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

Mr Colin Thatcher

Mr Alan Wood

Mr Bernie Yates, First Assistant Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and member of the Policy Development and Implementation Task Force

In addition, I addressed the Seminar.

(7)(a) The officer outposted from the Attorney-General's Department was Ms Margaret Byrne.

(b) The $75 000 was the fee agreed with the Attorney-General's Legal Practice, a business unit of the Attorney-General's Department, for Ms Byrne's services.

(c) Ms Byrne provided legal advice on constitutional and technical matters relating to the development of the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 ('the Bill').

(d) Arrangements for Ms Byrne's outposting, including her commencement date and the fees to be charged by Attorney-General's Department, were settled by the Secretary of my department and the Australian Government Solicitor on 13 March 1996.

(e) Ms Byrne was outposted to my department from 14 March to 28 June 1996 and worked for the department for a total of 65 days during that period.

(f) The $75 000 fee referred to in (b) above was the only amount paid by the Department of Industrial Relations in connection with Ms Byrne's services. The department was not required to make any other payments to the Attorney-General's Department or to Ms Byrne. The department provided Ms Byrne with an office and met the costs associated with the provision of general office services utilised by Ms Byrne, for example, telephone and computer.

(8)(a) In addition to the figure of $9 863 mentioned in my reply to Question No. 390 as having been paid to Dr Jessup QC in respect of advice provided, further costs have been incurred in relation to the provision of additional advice. The department has on hand one account for $5 750 and further accounts are pending.

(b) $13 500 has been paid to Mr Brian Lacy in respect of advice provided in connection with the development of the Bill.

(9)(a and b) Dr Jessup QC has provided advice on an ad hoc basis in connection with a range of matters related to the development of the Bill.

(c) Dr Jessup QC was first engaged to provide advice in relation to the development of the Bill on 27 March 1996.

(d) As indicated in 9(a) above, Dr Jessup QC has provided advice on an ad hoc basis. He has not been engaged for a specific period.

(e) My department has not been required to meet any travel or administrative costs for Dr Jessup QC.

(10) I am not aware of what may have been agreed between Professor Mulvey and the University of Western Australia regarding payments as it is a matter for those parties.

(11) The other leading academics or commentators on industrial relations consulted on the reforms included in the Bill were Professor Mulvey (as a member of the Task Force) and those attending the Seminar referred to above (Mr John Hyde, Professor Wolfgang Kasper, Mr Padraic P McGuinness, Mr John Stone and Mr Alan Wood) through that process.

The only leading academic or commentator on industrial relations, other than Professors Sloan and Mulvey, asked to provide comments on the draft legislation was Mr Joe Catanzariti, a partner with the law firm Clayton Utz and a regular writer on labour issues in The Australian newspaper.