Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

Last night the government, led by the Leader of the House, confirmed it had abandoned any due process when it gagged debate on the ABCC legislation. They sought to rush the bill through this place—and, in the process, prevented local members like me from voicing legitimate concerns, on behalf of hardworking people in Corio, about this legislation and the bad deal it represents for workers and businesses.

Just today, the Geelong Advertiser reports that Victorian building regulators will be in the region doing inspections, noting that seven people died at work during 2016 across Geelong and the Colac-Otway region. Indeed, in the greater Geelong area more than 80 workplace incidents were being reported every month.

Everyone in this place knows that workplace safety got worse under the ABCC. It hit a 10-year high in 2007, when 51 people lost their lives at work. Indeed, the same story is true in relation to productivity: it did not go as fast as it had when the ABCC did not exist.

This government would put Australian workers at risk for the sake of nothing other than ideology. And I can tell you, Mr Speaker: my constituency in Geelong, like the rest of the country, needs a government with a plan for jobs, not a government focused on undermining working conditions.

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