Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that through the passage of its 'closing loopholes' legislation, the Government has closed loopholes used by some employers to undercut wages, conditions and safety for Australian workers, including by:

(a) stopping companies using labour hire as a means of underpaying their workers;

(b) making it a criminal offence for employers to deliberately steal their workers' wages;

(c) closing the loophole in which large businesses could claim small business exemptions during insolvency;

(d) introducing a new criminal offence of industrial manslaughter;

(e) ensuring better support for first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder;

(f) protecting workers subjected to family and domestic violence from discrimination at work; and

(g) expanding the functions of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency to include silica;

(2) recognises that many Australian families are doing it tough dealing with the cost of living, and that getting wages moving again is a key part of addressing the cost of living;

(3) notes that the Opposition has voted against legislation to get wages moving 36 times in this term of Parliament; and

(4) calls on the Opposition to support the remaining elements of the 'closing loopholes' legislation, including minimum standards for gig workers, reforms to the road transport industry and a better deal for casual workers who want to become permanent.

Last week, the second half of the Albanese Labor government's 'closing loopholes' bill passed the Senate. Right now, it's back before the House and being debated as we speak; in fact, we may be called to a division at any moment! This important reform is the next step in the Albanese Labor government's plan to bolster and protect the pay and condition of Australian workers. If passed, when passed, the bill will provide minimum standards for gig workers, reforms to the road transport industry and a better deal for casual workers who want to become permanent.

I ask: when called upon to vote on this important legislation, this legislation so critical to the interests, health, safety and remuneration of Australian workers, what will the Liberals do? Based on their track record, I suspect we know which way they'll go. At every opportunity it appears the Liberals will oppose legislation that protects Australian workers. The Liberals opposed closing the labour hire loophole, instead siding with companies like Qantas who have used the loophole to undercut pay agreements and steal from workers, including from thousands of families in my community. Despite their opposition, that's a loophole that Labor has now closed. The Liberals opposed the criminalisation of wage theft, deciding that while it's a criminal offence for a worker to steal from the till it's no problem for an employer to steal from a worker's pay packet. Despite their opposition, Labor criminalised wage theft.

The Liberals opposed getting wages moving again not just once but 36 times in this term of parliament alone. It's no secret that wage suppression was part of their economic plan for a decade in government, and clearly it remains a part of their economic philosophy in opposition that workers don't deserve their fair share of the economic pie. Despite the Liberals' ideological opposition to higher wages, the Albanese Labor government has overseen record wage growth. Wages are growing at four per cent—the highest they've been in 15 years—and we've seen two consecutive quarters of real wage growth; I'm happy to take the member for Casey through what that looks like at some later point, if he requires! This is not just some sort of economic good fortune; it is the product of the hard work of the Australian people, and the policy settings from the Albanese Labor government and our plan to get wages moving again.

We've restored balance at the bargaining table with our 'secure jobs, better pay' laws. We've backed and secured substantial increases to the minimum wage. We've successively advocated for record increases to award wages. We've backed and funded a 15 per cent pay rise for our aged-care workers. All this, alongside the changes implemented in the first half of our 'closing loopholes' bill, has resulted in higher wages and better conditions for Australian workers.

So, as we approach another vote on supporting Australian workers, I am hoping that the Liberals have turned over a new leaf in 2024 and let their relentless contempt for working people fall behind them. Look at Labor's tax cuts, for example. It appears now that, despite all the incompetent bluster and a vicious commitment to rolling them back, the Liberals will now support Labor's tax cuts, even if they have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the pulpit.

I can't help but wonder: will they bring their new-found support for the Albanese Labor government's agenda to the second half of the closing loopholes bill, or will they revert to their default position of denying Australian workers a fair go? That's what the closing loopholes legislation is all about—ensuring that Australians have safe and secure work irrespective of who they are or which industry they work in. It's about standing up for casual workers who want to become permanent employees and giving them the right to convert their employment if they want to. It's about empowering the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for gig workers and ensuring that they aren't subjected to worse standards of pay and conditions just because they work in the gig economy. It's about establishing minimum standards in the road safety industry and doing what we can to prevent anymore unnecessary deaths on our roads.

Tragically, 235 people died on our roads just last year in transport related accidents as the impact of cost cutting and unrealistic deadlines proved deadly. I want to commend the efforts of the Transport Workers Union and the dedication of employers and industry associations who came together to support this legislation in shared recognition of a need for a safer and more viable road transport industry. I hope that their example, the coming together of somewhat unlikely allies, can be a lesson for the Liberals opposite when considering this legislation on its merits.

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