Tasmanian Business Reporter May 2019

Tasmanian Business Reporter - MAY 2019 5
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
www.tcci.com.au
Watch out for lurking winter lurgies
IF THE recent weather is
anything to go by we are
starting once again to get
into cold and flu season
which means of course
the precarious issue of
staff being ill.
The TCCI often gets
questions about personal
leave and what employers
can and can’t ask for.
As set out in the Fair
Work Act 2009 s107 employees
have notice and
evidence requirements
they must adhere to on
personal leave being:
Abbey
George
Workplace Relations
• giving the employer
notice of the leave
as soon as practicable
(which may be a time after
the leave has started);
• advising the employer
of the period, or
expected period, of the
leave; and
• if requested, provide
the employer evidence
that would satisfy a reasonable
person.
What evidence this is
will depend on each particular
circumstance, for
The TCCI often gets
questions about personal
leave and what employers
can and can’t ask for.
example:
• is it before/after a
weekend, leave etc?
• Is there a history of
the taking of personal
leave?
• Are there policies or
procedures or an Enterprise
Agreement in place
that addresses when evidence
is required and
what form it takes?
• What is the common
practice? For example
in the past has any leave
greater than two consecutive
days required evidence?
• Are statutory declarations
generally accepted
or do you only accept
medical certificates?
• What other information
do you have?
If you would like
assistant with the
drafting of a policy
or procedure, or
are unsure about
personal leave, or
employment matters
generally, please
contact either the
TCCI helpline on
1300 765 123, the
TCC office on 1300
559 122 or workplace
relations at
workplacerelations@
tcci.com.au
Challenge in using capacity
Brett
Charlton
Agility Logistics
A SENATE inquiry is
something new that happened
for me recently –
my words are inked in
Hansard for eternity.
The Tasmanian Logistics
Committee was
called to Melbourne to
present at the senate inquiry
into policy, regulatory,
taxation, administrative
and funding
priorities for Australian
shipping.
The inquiry allowed
the TLC to provide the
point of view of the majority
of Tasmanian industry
that our coastal
shipping task is already
in place and essential to
our trading community
– on the back of the
fact that we are an island
(despite one Senator
bringing up that dreaded
“bridge” concept that
anyone with any concept
of Bass Strait staples as a
chapter of the flat earth
policy).
The position presented
was that our current Bass
Strait service providers
have invested significantly
in new vessels and
infrastructure and that
any threat to these by international
shipping lines
being allowed to carry
domestic cargoes could
bite us in the bum should
Brett Charlton, left, with Senators Alex Gallacher, Barry O’Sullivan and
Glenn Sterle at the shipping senate inquiry.
they erode the viability
of our current services.
The worst case scenario
being that we lose
one or more of our current
service providers to
an international calling
vessel that a year later
sees something shiny in
another part of the planet
and disappears. We said
Tasmania needed to be
viewed as unique as an
island trading state but
by all means consider
options for the big island
– coastal shipping seems
to make sense there.
Although, one of the
comments made before
us by another party at the
senate inquiry raised my
eyebrows: “Our infrastructure
is not ready for
coastal shipping”.
Well, we have certainly
lived that phrase in
Tasmania over the last
six months.
Speak to any transport
company at the moment
and there is an underlying
tension in the air.
Behind the scenes at
the moment there is some
significant disruption in
Tasmania with the freight
task.
Readers of this column
may recall previous
statements about “the future
is so bright” due to
new capacity in the market.
The capacity has arrived
but there have been
challenges in being able
to manage and work the
new capacity.
There is frustration in
the ability to secure domestic
dry cargo northbound
space ex-Tasmania
as the mojo of
working larger vessels
and balancing cargo
volumes has not been
as smooth as everyone
would have liked.
Stories of full depots
of empty and full equipment,
delays for export
containers, redirection of
trucks at the last minute,
short shipments of trailers
are common presently.
The TLC is engaged
in this issue and have assurances
that the mojo is
being refined – “quickly
please” is the message
we are giving.
Chance to cure ailing Northern healthcare
Paul
Lupo
CEO, StLukesHealth
TASMANIA is facing a
once-in-a-generation opportunity
to fundamentally
change the way hospital
and health services
are delivered in Northern
Tasmania after the
commitment by Calvary
Health Care to invest
$100 million in a new
private hospital co-located
with the Launceston
General Hospital.
It is vital we use this investment
to not just simply
relocate the ageing St
Vincent’s and St Luke’s
hospital campuses, but
that we also see it as an
opportunity to undertake
a full investigation into
future health services
and needs, including different
models of care, to
ensure the delivery of the
highest quality and most
affordable healthcare for
both public and private
patients.
Following Calvary’s
unsolicited bid proposal
to the Office of the Coordinator-General
in 2017,
the project has now progressed
to the next phase.
This involves the assessment
panel and Calvary
working together
to finalise the appropriate
location for the new
hospital and defining exactly
what is required to
ensure the co-location
ultimately increases and
improves services and
health outcomes for all
Northern Tasmanians.
I certainly don’t profess
to have all the answers,
but as Tasmania’s
largest not-for-profit
health insurer which invests
all its earnings and
resources back into the
communities we serve,
St.LukesHealth is an important
contributor in the
north and has a role to
play in improving health
service outcomes for
both our members and
the wider community.
To ensure the best possible
outcome for Northern
Tasmania through
Calvary’s proposed investment,
we believe it
would be beneficial for
the Government to consider
the following:
• ensuring LGH and
Calvary work together to
develop a strategy to recruit
new and retain current
specialists in regional
Tasmania;
• allowing specialists
to provide services in the
A co-location is planned with the Launceston General Hospital
public and private hospitals
without restriction,
and ensuring enough
support between both
hospitals to provide specialists
with an attractive
work-life balance;
• ensuring Launceston
is an attractive prospect
for specialists by allowing
time for specialists to
undertake research, with
a view to improving patient
outcomes;
• eradicating the duplication
of services to ensure
funding allocated to
health is spent efficiently;
and
• ensuring the Calvary
project is incorporated as
part of the larger Launceston
Health Precinct
strategy for increased
and improved health service
delivery.
The $260 million
UTAS relocation, plus
the $20 million Launceston
City Heart project
and the $100 million Calvary
co-location all happening
at the same time
gives us an incredible
opportunity to collaborate,
innovate and deliver
an example of how a
regional city can become
a nation leading example
in regional health delivery.
With all these projects
on the drawing board, the
State Government also
has the ideal opportunity
to bring together northern
health stakeholders to
create a better system for
health services for northern
Tasmanians.
Let’s all get on board
and not waste this once
in a lifetime opportunity
to make a real difference
to the health of our local
community.