Labor has shown they are out of touch with their State colleagues and only capable of creating more uncertainty in the insurance market with the unworkable amendments to the Trade Practices Act (Personal Injuries and Death) Bill 2003 introduced last night, Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, Senator Helen Coonan, said today.
The Government’s proposed changes to the Trade Practices Act underpin State and Territory reforms to contain insurance costs by removing the ability of plaintiffs to use section 52 as a way of bypassing State tort law reform.
“The measures in this Bill remove the latent and very real potential for lawyers to use the strict liability provisions for misleading and deceptive conduct to justify personal injury payouts, even though the person defending the claim may have acted reasonably and honestly,” Senator Coonan said.
“The problems with insurance cost and availability cannot be ignored, despite the significant progress made by the Australian Government in collaboration with the States and Territories.
“The amendments proposed by the ALP and the Democrats leave the way open for the Trade Practices Act to become a vehicle for individuals seeking to side-step sensible State and Territory law reform.
“The Government’s Bill has the support of all States and Territories as well as the Insurance Council of Australia and conforms with the recommendations of the Ipp Review. Federal Labor are out of step with expert opinion and out of step with their State and Territory colleagues across the country.
“Governments across Australia have been working diligently to resolve problems in public liability, professional indemnity and medical indemnity insurance.
“Nobody, and particularly not those struggling to meet insurance costs, will thank the ALP for attempting to derail the process at this late stage.”
The Government did not accept the amendments put forward by Labor and the Democrats last night and will persist with attempts to have the legislation passed in a workable form.
“The amended legislation will result in greater uncertainty and complexity for plaintiffs and the insurance market, particularly as the legal linkages they create will need to be tested and challenged in the courts,” Senator Coonan said.
“The amendments could also leave questions as to which State or Territory’s law should be applied and do not define civil liability law or which particular types of action define the relevant cap for the purposes of the Trade Practices Act.
“In short, accepting these amendments could lead to a field day for lawyers.
“Under the Opposition’s approach, a range of professionals, including doctors, will continue to be under threat of litigation for conduct, regardless of whether they were at fault or not. This fails to resolve uncertainty in the insurance market.
“I call on Labor and the Democrats to reconsider their position in the interests of achieving a national solution.”