Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I won't try to match the lofty heights of the contribution from the member for Mackellar, who said it so well. I understand his passion. It is jarring to sit here and listen to Labor members opposite try to justify how they want to put more red tape and more bureaucracy on, in particular, the small businesses of our nation. As somebody who grew up in their mum and dad's small business and saw the efforts that it took to keep that afloat and make it successful, I understand that what we need to do as a government is, as much as we can, stop telling small businesses what to do and how to run their businesses and make sure that we entrust them to make the best decisions that they can make to keep their businesses successful, which will in turn lead to them employing more people. But it's the same old Labor Party, who can't be trusted when it comes to creating jobs. They can't be trusted when it comes to the economy. They simply want to tie up our economy with as much red tape and bureaucracy as possible. At the end of the day, that will only cost jobs. It will see fewer new jobs being created and it will mean businesses reassess the jobs that they are currently creating. Not content with creating the Fair Work Act, which, as the member for Mackellar has said, is essentially the framework that is operating at the moment, they are here railing against their own act. Well, they're right. We'll join them in saying it could use some sensible changes. If they ever want to join us in passing some legislation that would create some sensible changes, we would be very happy to deal with it. But sitting in here and raising their own bills and their own motions to rail against their own legislation that's been operating for some time just smacks of total hypocrisy and a fair bit of playing politics.

The previous opposition leader tried this at the last election. Just because it's a new opposition leader now doesn't mean that Australians will cop it any more than they did at the last election. The Australian people didn't buy it then, and they are not going to buy it now just because it's a new leader. It's the same old Labor Party. The last time Labor proposed this, analysis by Deloitte showed that Labor's 'same job, same pay' policy would cost 6,400 jobs every year and $15.3 billion in lost economic activity. The so-called party of workers has fallen so far that they are willing to sacrifice 6,400 jobs a year if it means they can dance to the tune created by their masters in the unions. This is all this is. When Sally McManus calls those opposite and says, 'Jump,' they simply say, 'How high?' The bar that she set this time is 6,400 jobs out of the Australian economy every year and to repeat the failed Labor policies that the people of Australia rejected at the last election.

Labor has conveniently forgotten to mention that union membership fell from 40 per cent in 1992 to just 14.3 per cent in August 2020. What do we put that down to? I put it down to Australian workers wanting choice. Australian workers want the choice to negotiate with their employers, they want the choice to make the decisions that are best for their families and they want the choice to talk to their employers about the job conditions that best suit their own circumstances. They don't need the unions coming in and telling them what circumstances are best for their families. They don't need the unions coming in and pretending like they can negotiate better for those workers' families and the workers themselves. They are just not buying it anymore. They are not buying what the Labor Party are selling. They are not buying what the unions are selling. They are leaving in droves, just to hammer home that point.

The amendments Labor are talking about in their bill will effectively strip the rights of labour hire workers to negotiate their own pay and conditions directly with their employers and cost thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to the economy. Why? Because Labor think they know best. The member for Mackellar was exactly right: Labor members opposite, just like they want to tell Australians how to live their lives in so many other aspects, want to tell Australian workers how to negotiate with their employers and what terms and conditions are best suited for their families. This one-size-fits-all approach doesn't actually work in the real world. The only place it works is in the boardroom very high up on Macquarie Street where all the unions hang out and have their executive meetings. That's the only place, theoretically, where it works. Those workers working in different jobs around the nation know that they need to have the power in their own hands to negotiate the best conditions for their families.

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