Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. It is about job security. And just a little tip: you can actually go to 2020 and get that equipment, so you don't have to send a staffer off to do it if you don't want to in future, if you have to do the numbers.

I stand here in this place in solidarity with the workers of Alcoa, with my colleagues on this side of the House the member for Fremantle and the member for Burt. We present policies to benefit the many, not the few, and we work in solidarity with the working women and men of Australia.

Over the last several weeks and the 41 days that these working women and men have been on strike and on their picket lines, I have visited them in Kwinana, in my electorate, and in Pinjarra. I didn't have a ute to stand on, I'll admit. I didn't have a megaphone. I went and spoke to a lot of members personally. I delivered lamingtons—I did not cook them, and I apologise for that, but I think the workers enjoyed them. I delivered some quiche. I went to two mass meetings, both in Pinjarra, one in the pouring rain. I went to two picket lines, one in Pinjarra and one in Kwinana in my electorate. I spoke to people I went to high school with. Hello to Jarrod Draper, for instance. We went to Safety Bay Senior High School together. I spoke to Alcoa workers that my brothers went to school with—Frank Mooney; they went to Rockingham Senior High.

I was really pleased to welcome Bill Shorten down to the Pinjarra mass meeting to listen to the workers. He spoke to the workers about his promises, Labor's promises, to deliver a fair go for workers, to change the rules so that companies like Alcoa cannot just walk on in and terminate an agreement. That's the kind of action this parliament needs to take to protect the job security of workers. Bill Shorten, like me, hates it when companies like Alcoa take advantage of decent, cooperative workers who just want the best thing for their own workforce—as well they should—for their own families and for the state of Western Australia. If this motion were worth a hill of beans, we'd work to legislate and change the Fair Work Act to give a fair go to workers in this country. (Time expired)

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