Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

What I would like to put on the record is what these amendments actually do, because they are reasonably simple amendments. Once you look at them you realise that the government is being exceptionally bloody-minded in taking this course of action. Some of these amendments would be problematic for the intergovernmental agreement but some of them would not be. But the Deputy Prime Minister is not prepared to engage; she is far too arrogant to do that. Her idea of negotiation is to just say, ‘Look, I insist on having my own way and everyone else can just go and whistle Dixie.’

The amendments outlined the objects of the new body. That is relatively simple, I think you would agree, Mr Deputy Speaker. They restored effective levels of representation to both the employer and the employee representatives. Ultimately, when it comes to occupational health and safety, it is the employers and the employees who you need to be involved. That is the tripartite model that is endorsed by, amongst others, the ACTU—and I will get to them in a minute. The rest of the amendments introduced balanced voting processes designed to engage the very people in our community who are affected by occupational health and safety laws, and ensured that workers and industry were effectively and ably represented by these peak bodies. They freed the peak bodies from unnecessary ministerial interference and also freed the CEO of this new body from excessive ministerial interference. Finally, they established an audit committee to examine the finances and the expenditure of the new body, Safe Work Australia. None of that, I would have thought, should be particularly problematic for the government, yet they refused to talk to the senators about it, they refused to engage with the opposition, they refused to engage with the Greens and they refused to engage with Senator Xenophon and Senator Fielding. Of course, these amendments were supported by ACCI, amongst others, and, unusually I think when you find an alliance of this type, they were also supported by the ACTU.

I would like to read to the House the press release that the ACTU issued today, 4 December. It is headlined ‘Safe Work Bill changes are needed to strengthen workplace health and safety laws’. I will not read the whole thing but I will seek leave to table it. It says:

All politicians should accept the Senate amendments to the Safe Work Bill and allow a swift passage for the legislation, says the ACTU.

The ACTU is not a traditional ally of the Liberal Party, as I am sure you will appreciate. So we find ourselves in this situation because we have a government that are so arrogant they insist on having their own way. They will not engage with the Senate. They will not engage with the opposition, even though we came to them in good faith and asked them to do that. Be the results tonight on your heads.

Question agreed to.

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