Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today with a deep sense of responsibility to contribute to the debate on this crucial piece of legislation. It's based on a fundamental principle that everyone deserves to go home safe from work. The bill before us addresses a matter of grave concern to me and the people of Swan. As renovation spread through Australia with an obsession during the pandemic, what we also saw was the increased rates of silicosis in the workforce community, particularly amongst workers. It's entirely unacceptable that we are witnessing a rise of silicosis cases. This government, however, is delivering on its commitment to see comprehensive reforms. These reforms aim to bolster the prevention of occupational respiratory disease.

The reforms have been thoughtfully designed not only to enhance prevention—because we all know that prevention is better than a cure—but also to ensure that we see the improved treatment of individuals who have contracted occupational respiratory disease due to workplace exposure.

Silicosis, for those who may not be familiar with it, is a devastating and irreversible lung disease. It's a disease that is triggered by the inhalation of silica dust. Silica is a common mineral found in sand, quartz and various types of rock. This disease primarily affects workers exposed to silica dust in industries such as construction and in mining related occupations. Silicosis is a cruel and debilitating condition causing symptoms such as shortness of breath, persistent cough and fever in those afflicted. It's really unacceptable that nothing has been done about this until now. Occupational health and workplace safety are matters close to my heart. I'm reminded of the impacts on people in my family that have been affected by workplace injuries.

I'm also really proud to see that our federal government is working on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023. We are a government that wants to ensure we close the loopholes in our industrial relations system. We need to protect casuals but also give them the opportunity to convert to permanent employment, but only if that is agreed to by the workers.

We have also been looking at workplaces where workers are doing the same work but are on different awards. Some workplaces have multiple payment systems, and companies say, 'We've got the award and we've got the EBA, but there is a difference between those two things.' They get third-party contractors in to basically undercut workers. There are interesting examples of this, such as air hostesses who are supervising on aeroplanes and being paid less than the team members they are supervising.

The truth is that Australia fundamentally believes in a fair industrial relations system. With this industrial relations system, we need to make sure that it is fair and that workers have the opportunity to be paid a fair wage. When people migrate to Australia, they do so because they believe in access to good health and good education but also access to fair workplace conditions.

The other thing we've been looking at is industrial manslaughter. This is something that's of quite grave concern to people that go to work. Fundamentally, workers deserve to go home safely at the end of the day. In one of the weeks after I came back from parliament, back in June, I had two workplace deaths in my electorate. One was Constable Anthony Woods, who was a police officer. The other was an apprentice worker, Hamoira. He was just 16. We need to make sure that workplaces and bosses fundamentally understand that they have a responsibility to look after staff members, and we need to make sure that they are held accountable in the event of unfortunate incidents. This is one of the things that our bill addresses, and I think it's really, really important.

I would point out that part of the title of this legislation is 'closing loopholes'. We have seen companies look at the loopholes in our laws and use them for financial gain.

That financial gain has been at the expense of workers and, frankly, that is not good enough. We need to make sure that we have a fair industrial relations environment, and we need to make sure that we still make it competitive but also make sure that workers can prosper in this environment.

I think that this is really important legislation and it shows what Labor governments can do when we are in power. I think that this will be legislation that has a phenomenal ability to improve the lives of workers and that will make a real difference to people on the ground level.

We also have clauses that relate to transport workers, and I've heard that TWU workers were talking about how this has the ability to transform lives. One of the things that we saw during the pandemic is how important not only our supply chains are but also our transport networks are. In Western Australia, there were times when we didn't have much stuff on the shelves. It was related to a rail line being down as well. So a thing we saw during the pandemic but also the torrential rains on the South Australian and Western Australian border is that these are really important transport routes that make sure that we can get things like medicine, food and toilet paper. But what we have seen in the transport sector is almost a gamification of the way that work is done. What we have seen is that these workers have been under pressure to work in unsafe conditions. Quite frankly, it's unacceptable. We want to make sure that truck drivers are safe on our roads. When our truck drivers are safe, it means that other motorists are safe as well. I see this policy as something that has the ability to transform the lives of workers but also make sure that workers actually get home at the end of the day. I think that this is something that should be a minimum standard. It will make sure that it actually helps workers.

I see this as part of Labor's narrative that we got wages moving again, we protected our minimum wage workers and we had the 'secure jobs, better pay' legislation. The truth is that this is legislation that we had to have after a decade of the Liberal government mismanaging our economy and not looking after workers. It comes as no surprise that the architecture of the previous Liberal government was to deliberately keep wages low. Frankly, they weren't on the side of the worker. It is the Labor Party that took bold actions to enhance work conditions and rekindle wage growth.

Today, we find ourselves once more with legislation that fosters a fair work environment for all workers. This legislation is designed to fundamentally close the loopholes that have eroded pay and working conditions for so many workers. It's been really interesting to hear some of the comments that I have from constituents since the minister unveiled his legislation this week—'This has been needed for a long time,' 'Thanks to a Labor government for finally addressing corporate injustice,' 'Well done, fabulous and good work,' and 'Thank you.' These are just some of the sentiments expressed in the last few days. This is because the work is about closing loopholes that have been undermining the rights of workers. It's about safeguarding the future and the reputation of Australia. It's about ensuring that its people are shielded from unjust treatment and exploitation.

Key provisions of the bill include criminalising wage theft, offering pathways for casual employees to attain permanent status and establishing minimum standards for the road transport industry. This is truly commendable. It came out of consultation with a range of stakeholders. About 160 organisations made over 220 submissions to the consultation process. It was important to ensure that state and territory governments, business groups, employers, the mining and construction industry and unions were involved in the process.

We are a government that listens to people whom our decisions affect, unlike the top-down approach adopted by the Liberal government. We listen, we act. As a result, in government we have had more than 80 consultation meetings and received feedback on the draft bill.

The legislation goes further than ever before. It introduces groundbreaking changes for workers in the gig economy. Under this bill, the gig economy workers in Australia, including rideshare drivers and food delivery riders, will benefit from minimum pay rates and protections. We are familiar with the apps of Uber, DoorDash, Menulog and HungryPanda, to name a few, that have become an integral part of Australians' daily lives. That was particularly so during the pandemic. These platforms have been a lifeline for many, connecting us with essential services. It's our duty to ensure that these workers are protected and treated fairly in our workplace framework. It's a fundamental understanding that, in Australia, people should not have to rely on tips to have a minimum wage. They deserve to have minimum conditions to make sure that they can put food on the table and have a roof over their head.

We are increasingly relying on these drivers for food delivery, trade services and much more. In some ways, they've become an integral part of everyday life. They, in turn, should be able to rely on us to establish minimum conditions that respect their contribution to our economy but also our lifestyle, yet they have been taken for granted. Under this legislation, that will end. Working in the gig economy, for various reasons, should not result in lower wages than those received by traditional employees. Such inequity has no place in Australia. We are a nation that prides itself on worker protection and a fair and safe working environment. Granting gig economy workers the right to sick leave, annual leave and minimum pay rates, which are currently denied under existing arrangements, is the right path forward.

Among the other wideranging amendments, I'd like to focus on the changes introduced by this bill that close the labour hire loophole. These will benefit 67,000 workers who have been disadvantaged by this practice. This will be life-changing for these individuals and families. It sends a strong signal to companies that they have been undercutting workers and, frankly, that is unacceptable. The previous government, despite being well aware of the harm caused by these loopholes to so many workers in this country, chose not to address this during their tenure. They chose to deny it. They chose to ignore it. It is characteristic of much of the previous Liberal government. While they did this, the outsourcing of labour in Australia soared under their watch. I have seen on some mine sites that, when this happens, when you see a race to the bottom on wages, you see a race to the bottom on safety. We need to make sure that you get the right behaviours, and the right behaviours include the right pay. Initially intended as a temporary solution, labour hire has been increasingly used to circumvent negotiated enterprise bargaining agreements and conditions. That is not the intention for labour hire. Statistics provided by the ABS show that labour hire employment growth has outpaced general employment growth. It is unacceptable, and I'm glad that this Labor government is dealing with that in this legislation. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.

See this speech in context