Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Superannuation. Will the minister outline the consistent approach the government is taking to deal with the human and economic costs of bullying in Australian workplaces? Minister, are there other policies on creating fairer workplaces and what would be their impact?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. For the information of the House, the member for Deakin has been working with the Panlock family who are constituents in his electorate. Their daughter tragically took her own life after being bullied at work. So this is a very important issue to him.

He believes—as I do and as this government does, and as I believe everyone in the House does—that everyone who goes to work should come home safe. There are no other sets of circumstances which would ever be supported.

The Productivity Commission has estimated that bullying in the workplace costs somewhere between $6 billion and $36 billion. The Gillard government generally wants to address the economic and emotional cost of bullying in the workplace. I have worked with the Panlock family and others. There are no dollars possible to rate the cost of the loss of their daughter's life and the tragedy and the repercussions that continue on forever from that.

We have provided the Fair Work Commission an extra $21.4 million over the next four years to help people who are bullied at work to get help quickly and affordably. I acknowledge that on 9 May those opposite said that they wanted to address workplace bullying. I quote from their policy:

Labor has promised to amend the Fair Work laws to include bullying. The Coalition will support Labor's proposed changes.

That is good; a tick for that. The coalition said they would support the government's legislation which delivered a key recommendation of the parliament's bullying inquiry and which was an individual right of recourse for victims of workplace bullying. However, to my disappointment, I read in today's Australian Financial Review on page 3 that the coalition apparently is going to move amendments and excise bullying provisions. I am sad to report to the House that the Financial Review has reported that the decision to move amendments to strike out tougher workplace bullying laws, which would see bullying complaints referred to the Fair Work Commission, is a surprise as the coalition's industrial relations policy document indicated support for the move.

What I do hope here—and I mean this with all sincerity—is that there are some people opposite who just want to tackle the issue of workplace bullying. I believe that. I also understand that there is probably the pragmatic small-target brigade on IR within the opposition central ranks who probably want to silence some of the far-right-wing nutters who exist in the Liberal Party on IR. Either the Financial Review is lying or someone in the opposition is. Sorry, I withdraw that. That is unparliamentary.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister should withdraw.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor knows that bullying is a problem. I know that your average rank-and-file Liberal MP knows it is a problem. Let us all get behind tackling workplace bullying.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Speaker, on a point of order: the opposition takes mental health very seriously and I thought the minister did. Therefore, I would ask him to withdraw his slur against members of the opposition, making fun of people with mental illness.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. I will ask the minister to withdraw the reference and I would caution everybody to be very careful with some of the terminology they use. It may seem amusing to some but it is very hurtful to others.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member.