Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Small business is the engine room of our economy, with 97.5 per cent, or around 2.5 million businesses, dominating the business sector. The contribution small businesses make to powering our nation is considerably significant, with one-third of our GDP being accounted for by small business. These businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. They provide job opportunities for 5.1 million Australians and employ 42 per cent of all apprentices and trainees. Rather than thanking these ambitious Australians who want to give it a go and work tirelessly to create a business they're proud of, this government is ready to grind the livelihood of these people and their employees to a halt.

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill seeks to punish businesses through additional costs to businesses. It will decrease productivity, place jobs on the line and further drive the country's current cost-of-living crisis. Claims made by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations that the changes are very modest couldn't be further from the truth. The reality is that this government is going to inflict an extreme amount of complexity and red tape on businesses while crippling individuals and families.

In Queensland there are more than 473,000 small businesses. John Kerslake, who lives in my electorate of Capricornia, is one of those small-business owners. His two cafes support 25 locals and have contributed to the local Mackay region's economy for many years. Unfortunately, the hard work John and his wife have put into their business will be under threat if this legislation is passed. As any good business owner will attest, their priority is the wellbeing of their staff. Without the loyalty and drive of their employees, their business will fail to thrive. John has said to me that up to four jobs will be on the line, while other staff will have their hours cut back to accommodate the changes this legislation will cause. At a time when Australians are being hit on the hip pocket with ever increasing energy prices, high grocery bills and the cost of everyday items continuing to grow, job losses through irresponsible and poorly thought through legislation will further compound the pressure they are under to make ends meet.

Many of John's staff are young women with families, who require the flexibility that a casual position provides. Casual employment allows these young women to get their children ready for school, do the school runs and be able to stay home to care for the children when they're sick. This flexibility is what draws people to the job. If the minister for employment has his way, there will be nothing flexible about working in the local cafe. Why should a mum be forced not to be there with her sick child because she's tied to a work agreement? Changing this legislation erodes the choice and flexibility of the 2.7 million Australians currently employed as casuals. Those who will be left to pick up the slack to continue to make the business work will be the owners, who are already stretched thin.

Bound by complicated laws, the employment minister has admitted that the bill will add even more layers of complexity to an already intricate system. By introducing a new definition of 'casual employment', it changes what is currently a very simple concept to one that is challenging to navigate not only for business owners but also for everyday Australians. Currently, a casual employee has the right to convert to a permanent-status worker after 12 months if they have worked regular hours. The permanent-casual loophole has been closed, yet, in usual Labor style, legislation surrounding casual workers will become some of the most complex industrial legislation ever seen.

This government plans to add a new right after six months, in addition to the current system allowing an employee to convert to a permanent position after 12 months. Business owners are expected to read and thoroughly understand the new definition, which consists of three pages and includes 15 factors, to determine whether an employee is classed as a casual. For an employee to be considered a casual, they must by law meet the 15 factors.

To convert a casual employee is even more confusing. Business owners just don't have the time to understand the complex conversion process required to move an employee to a permanent position. The process to do so is described in an extensive, eight-page document, with two streams for regulating the same thing. Testing an employee to move employment classification involves 11 factors, which consists of four sections and seven subsections within the legislation.

There will also be two streams to regulate the same thing—one stream if an employee is converted at the six-month mark and a second stream for conversion after 12 months. Small-business owners know their businesses better than anyone. They understand the need for the present and what they must do to plan for the future. As part of the changes to the fair work legislation, Labor is essentially pulling the rug out from under the feet of business owners, who need to be able to make an educated decision on what is best for their business.

In response to a conversion request, an employer must give detailed reasoning for why they want to change an employee's position. They will also be subjected to involuntary arbitration by the Fair Work Commission should a worker or union dispute their decision or their interpretation of the definition. Under this proposed definition, an employer could be exposed to misclassification claims, including claims of double-dipping of entitlements which are in addition to casual loading that employees have already received. Employers may also be at risk of contravening the act through civil penalties. Breaching the act will come with a maximum penalty of $93,900 per breach per employee. I know many small-business owners. I too have been a small-business owner. I am quite sure that these people don't have an in-depth understanding of industrial relations laws, nor do they have the time that will be required to navigate their way through this quagmire of legislation.

The risk that is posed for employers—of being caught in the crossfire of the definition and clauses in this government's proposed amendments—will leave employers with no choice but to force their workers to move into a permanent job. In effect, this legislation is making it too risky for any business to employ someone on a casual basis. This move will mean staff will lose additional income and the flexibility of the choice of hours that attracted them to the position in the first place. If this government thinks that more jobs will magically be replaced by permanent ones, that is absurd and is a complete misjudgement of why casual employment is necessary. When talking to John, my local cafe owner, he said that the positions he will have to make redundant if this legislation is passed won't equate to permanent positions. For just one small business in Australia to have the potential to make four positions redundant paints a bleak picture of what the total job loss will be like.

Recently the High Court of Australia made a decision that clarified and simplified the common-law definition of employment. Labor's changes to the legislation mean Labor is thumbing its nose at the High Court, who ultimately is an independent body to ensure our country's laws are fair and right. Overturning this decision shows the contempt which Labor holds for the High Court and proves that they are more concerned with pleasing their union bosses. Industrial relations reform is one of the most important aspects of Australia's economy and should be designed to ensure we as a country remain productive and competitive and boost job numbers. A workplace relations system that delivers a safety net for workers, recognises the shared interests of managers and workers in an enterprise's success, and gives a business the agility it needs to compete, grow and succeed is of utmost importance. This is the recipe for delivering a successful, strong and resilient economy.

Just last week I had the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Nationals join me in Rockhampton to visit businesses. One of those businesses, Doblo's Farmers Market, has gone from strength to strength. Owner and entrepreneur Dominic Doblo and his family have been in the business of selling fruit and vegetables for over a century. Such has been his success that his business has expanded to accommodate a butcher, florist, plant nursery and cafe, which employ dozens of Rockhampton locals. It would be a travesty to see this bill succeed and demolish all the hard work that has made Dominic, John and the other 2.5 million small businesses successful.

We as a government need to nurture and replenish current and next-generation entrepreneurs, encouraging Australians to take a chance on themselves. However, industrial laws as confusing and risky as the one proposed stifle small-business development. In this bill we find uncertainty and complexity to the employment of millions of casuals, contractors and labour-hire workers. It leads me to the question: why change something that isn't broken? This government is fulfilling the long list of union demands they put forward prior to coming to government. It is a government seeking to deliver on their promise and come good to the unions.

The measures put forward in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 reward Labor's union paymasters. This legislation change will provide the unions with unprecedented power in the workplace. For the first time in history, union delegates will have the ability to exercise rights-of-entry powers without any notice. It will be as simple as a union reporting their suspicion of wage underpayment. They can do this without any evidence. What concerns me the most about this power that the unions will yield is the effect it will have on our primary producers whose homes are their offices. Without warning, a complete stranger will be able to enter the home of a farmer. Their home is their workplace, and, more often than not, children will be present, exposing them to strangers entering the place they live and play. It is unsafe and a dangerous practice and one that children should not be subjected to.

Primary producers also have their farm's biosecurity put on the line as union delegates waltz in unannounced. All it would take is for one union delegate to bring disease in from their travels to completely decimate a famer's livelihood. It's tough enough for our farmers, who deal with our country's droughts and flooding rains, without the threat of complete strangers bringing potential biosecurity risk to their property and being forced by the law to let them inside their homes. This policy has taken businesses by surprise, as these policies did not form any part of this government's 2022 election policies, nor were they included in any of the public consultation papers released earlier this year. I will not support legislation which seeks to serve as a payoff to unions nor will I support legislation which will weaken our economy and create turmoil for the small Australian businesses who drive our nation forward.

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