Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move opposition amendments (1) to (3), as circulated in my name, together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (line 28), omit paragraph 16B(1)(c).

(2) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (after line 29), after paragraph 16B(1)(d), insert:

(da) 1 member representing small business;

(db) 2 members representing regional, rural and remote Australia;

(3) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (after line 32), after subsection 16B(2), insert:

(2A) In appointing the members of the Ministerial Advisory Board, the Minister must ensure that the members include a representative from each State, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.

These amendments are designed to alter the composition of the ministerial advisory board outlined in the bill. The coalition does not think it is appropriate to mandate that four positions are dedicated to employee organisations—or, in other words, to the unions. The bill as it stands will ensure that these members are appointed over others we consider more important in this specific context.

Under the arrangements we propose through these amendments, the government would still be able to appoint officials from unions as general members of the board, but no future minister or government would be mandated to do so. In their stead, we believe it is more appropriate that one member represents small business and another two represent regional, rural and remote Australia. Small businesses and our regions are on the front line of skills and labour force shortages. They are doing it really tough right now. The important voices of small business and the regions should be able to provide direct advice to the commissioner of Jobs and Skills Australia and the minister. Our amendments would allow them to do just that.

Furthermore, our amendments legislate that each state and territory must be represented within the composition of the mandated board members. We believe ensuring a geographical spread within the discussed mandated appointments is desirable. Skills and labour force shortages are unique in each region of our country, and we believe they should be able to bring those differing perspectives to the forefront of the commissioner's and the minister's considerations.

I call on the crossbench to support our amendments to the government's amendment. We are not precluding union representation on the board altogether but, rather, removing the mandate for it. I also believe our amendments make the board more balanced and will allow Jobs and Skills Australia to consider the advice of those disproportionately impacted by skills and labour force technology.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government opposes the amendments. The government's intention is to establish a body to provide advice to government and industry on skills and the labour market, and therefore it's important to have employer and employee representatives—unions and employers working together to deal with really significant challenges within this country. For the opposition to suggest that we should remove the worker voice entirely from this body speaks very much to the enmity they have towards organised labour and the rights of working people to be represented in this country.

Now, we made it clear before the election that we would have a tripartite body established, and, as a result of that, we are enacting legislation. The governance arrangements are such that the ministerial advisory board is going to have equal representation of workers and employers on that body—along with others. For that reason, we cannot support these. I also note that, despite the efforts of the opposition to have others come out and support these amendments, no employer body or, for that matter, other stakeholders have publicly supported the opposition with respect to these amendments, and that's because they are completely out of step with how training and skills are engaged with, in industry. Whatever differences employers and unions might have from to time, they work on things together, whether it's superannuation or training and skills. We need to bring people together. The Jobs and Skills Summit was about convening constituent parts of our society and our economy to work together to deal with the structural challenges the country faces. This legislation is in keeping with that approach, and that's why it's impossible for us to support both the amendments and the reasoning behind the amendments, because they are contrary to the commitments we made to the Australian people before the election and they completely undermine the workers' voice on this important body.

I hear the Deputy Leader of the Opposition suggest that there's still a capacity to appoint members, but this is a tripartite body with equal representation from employers and from workers, and we will not accede to these amendments.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the amendments moved by the honourable Deputy Leader of the Opposition be disagreed to.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move amendment (4) as circulated in my name:

(4) Schedule 1, item 37, page 18 (line 4), omit "2 years", substitute "12 months".

The coalition is moving these amendments to alter the time line under which a review into the operation of the act must commence and to ensure a geographical spread of appointees.

In this legislation as it stands, the minister is not required to commence a review into the operation of this act until the end of a two-year period. This would allow the minister to avoid scrutiny into the success or failures of Jobs and Skills Australia until after the next election. This is not appropriate. This was a key pillar of the government's election platform. The government must commit to commencing a review and finalising it prior to the next election. Jobs and Skills Australia was a foundational piece of the campaign which saw the government brought to office. It is crucial that the Australian public are able to assess the failures and success of the government's delivery on its promise. I move these amendments with the intent of allowing them of allowing them to do exactly that.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Consistent with our approach on other matters and after speaking with stakeholders, we can't accede to the request by the opposition to support this amendment. We oppose the amendment and, as I said earlier, we really wanted to see the opposition support this new body, but clearly, with the amendments it's seeking to make, it wants to undermine the objects of the very important body that's been established by the government. We can't support the amendment.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the amendment moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition be disagreed to.

Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2), as circulated in my name, together:

(1) Schedule 1, item 31, page 10 (after line 26), after section 16B, insert:

16BA Appointment process — members of the Ministerial Advisory Board

(1) This section applies to the following appointments:

(a) the appointment of a person to be a member of the Ministerial Advisory Board under section 16B;

(b) the appointment of a person to act as a member of the Ministerial Advisory Board if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more.

(2) An appointment must not be made unless:

(a) the selection of the person for the appointment is the result of a process that includes:

(i) public advertising of selection criteria for the position; and

(ii) assessment of applications against the selection criteria by an independent panel consisting of at least 3 members and chaired by a former judge; and

(iii) shortlisting of at least 3 persons for the appointment who are certified, in writing, by the panel to meet all of the selection criteria; and

(b) the person appointed is one of the shortlisted candidates.

(3) Within 7 days after an appointment is made, the Minister must cause a copy of the written certification (referred to in subparagraph (2)(a)(iii)) for the person appointed to be:

(a) tabled in each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

(4) In this section:

former judge means:

(a) a former Justice of the High Court; or

(b) a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or

(c) a former judge of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

(5) This section does not affect the operation of subsection 16B(4).

(2) Schedule 1, item 32, page 14 (after line 28), after section 19, insert:

19A Appointment process — Commissioners

(1) This section applies to the following appointments:

(a) the appointment of a person to be the JSA Commissioner under section 18;

(b) the appointment of a person to be a JSA Deputy Commissioner under section 18A;

(c) the appointment of a person to act as a Commissioner under section 19 if:

(i) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of 6 months or more; or

(ii) the appointment is to act in the office for a period of less than 6 months but, in combination with previous appointments, the person will have been appointed to act in the office for a total period of 6 consecutive months or more.

(2) An appointment must not be made unless:

(a) the selection of the person for the appointment is the result of a process that includes:

(i) public advertising of selection criteria for the position; and

(ii) assessment of applications against the selection criteria by an independent panel consisting of at least 3 members and chaired by a former judge; and

(iii) shortlisting of at least 3 persons for the appointment who are certified, in writing, by the panel to meet all of the selection criteria; and

(b) the person appointed is one of the shortlisted candidates.

(3) Within 7 days after an appointment is made, the Minister must cause a copy of the written certification (referred to in subparagraph (2)(a)(iii)) for the person appointed to be:

(a) tabled in each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

(4) In this section:

former judge means:

(a) a former Justice of the High Court; or

(b) a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or

(c) a former judge of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory.

(5) This section does not affect the operation of subsections 18(3), 18A(3) and 19(2).

In March this year, I introduced a private member's bill called the Transparent and Quality Public Appointments Bill. This bill, which was drafted in partnership with the Centre for Public Integrity, calls for an independent recruitment process for major Commonwealth public appointments. At the last election, Australians let us know in no uncertain terms that they were fed up with wave after wave of rorts, corruption, cronyism, secret ministries and a lack of transparency. The message to the federal parliament was clear: clean up your act.

Across the country, including in my electorate of Mackellar, building greater integrity into our political system was a core election issue and remains so. We need to end the jobs-for-mates culture in our politics, government and bureaucracy. We need this so Australians can have trust and confidence that the decisions being made by these vital bodies that underpin our democracy are true.

My bill, if implemented, would establish a framework to ensure that major public Commonwealth appointments are made independently and transparently and that appointees are of the highest quality and expertise. Independence and expertise: these are two quite separate requirements. Selections requiring quality of candidates are vital. It goes without saying. But the quality or merit of a candidate is a very different thing to the independence of the process and people that make the appointment. Currently, appointments are made at the discretion of the relevant minister.

Reaction to my private member's bill was overwhelmingly positive. It was backed by the Centre for Public Integrity, the Grattan Institute, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Australia Institute, the Australian Democracy Network, Transparency International Australia—and the list goes on. Polling done by the Australia Institute in February this year showed that, when it comes to appointments to government bodies, over two-thirds of Australians think that only candidates who have been shortlisted by an independent selection panel should be eligible for these appointments. This is precisely why I introduced the private member's bill earlier this year.

So I come to this bill under consideration, the Jobs and Skills Australia Amendment Bill 2023. As we know, Australia is facing a critical skills and labour shortage. These shortages have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as well as an absence of proper planning by the previous government. In response, the Albanese government established an interim Jobs and Skills Australia Agency in November last year. This legislation makes that agency permanent. The legislation has been welcomed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Tech Council of Australia, Universities Australia and the Business Council of Australia. I too welcome and support the passage of this bill. I agree with Jobs Australia Ltd, whose submission to the Senate inquiry noted that this bill provides long-awaited solutions to Australia's reactionary and inconsistent response to the ongoing labour market difficulties.

But, like others, I believe this bill could be improved. The bill requires the appointment of a commissioner, deputy commissioners and a ministerial advisory board to the Jobs and Skills Australia agency. There are existing provisions in the bill which require candidates for these positions to have appropriate experience and knowledge for the role. Those provisions are vital. My amendment specifically states that it does not seek to override those provisions. My amendments to this bill require that, in addition to the consideration of expertise, the selection process for these positions must have greater independence from party politics, whereby an independent panel selects a shortlist of candidates from which the minister can then make the final appointment. In short, I am trying to ensure that there is not a jobs-for-mates culture in the Jobs and Skills Australia agency. We know it was the jobs-for-mates culture that caused the Attorney-General to last year abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Why would we set up new institutions of government without learning from the mistakes that have caused other institutions like the AAT to fail?

I have already presented the government with a robust, viable overall solution through my 'ending jobs for mates bill'. For a mere $3 million, as costed by the PBO, the government could pass and implement my bill to take care of the jobs-for-mates— (Time expired)

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mackellar for moving her amendment and for her genuine interest in ensuring integrity to appointments to independent bodies. I want to make a few points, the first and primary one being that the government has appointed Ms Lynelle Briggs AO to lead a review of the public sector board appointments and their processes. The review forms part of the government's public sector reform agenda under the priority area of an APS that embodies integrity in everything it does. The review will consider and propose appropriate standards for the processes by which members are appointed to government boards. This will include a focus on the role of public sector boards and how needed skills and standards are set; options for transparent processes to identify and recruit board members; how ministers are advised on the selection of board members; and improving the diversity of board membership, including in terms of gender, cultural and linguistic diversity and First Nations and geographic representation on public sector boards. Despite the well-intentioned motives of the member and the genuineness of her efforts to change the legislation, given that review is underway, we will not pre-empt the recommendations of that report, particularly on an ad hoc basis by separate amendments to bills.

The bill in the House has significant criteria for the appointment of board members. The appointment of the commissioner and deputy commissioners are guided by the Cabinet Handbook and the Australian Public Service Commission guidelines. Additionally, I think the proof is in the pudding. I have appointed Professor Peter Dawkins as interim JSA director. Professor Dawkins has been doing a remarkable job steering JSA through this formative stage, and his credentials and expertise are quite evident. There is a statutory review requirement in this legislation which can also consider the appropriateness of the appointment processes. The government is committed to implementing high-quality appointment processes. For those reasons I have outlined, we won't be able to support this amendment.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the amendments moved by the honourable member for Mackellar be disagreed to.

Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Skills and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to this bill, and I seek leave to move government amendments (1) and (2) as circulated together.

Leave granted.

I move:

(1) Schedule 1, item 31, page 9 (lines 28 and 29), omit paragraphs 16B(1)(c) and (d), substitute:

(c) 4 members representing employee organisations;

(d) 4 members representing employer organisations;

(2) Schedule 1, item 31, page 10 (after line 16), after subparagraph 16B(4)(a)(ix), insert:

(ixa) regional, rural and remote Australia;

The government amendments to the bill will expand representation in Jobs and Skills Australia's governance arrangements to ensure its analysis and advice continue to be informed by tripartite expertise, knowledge and lived experience of the labour market and skills systems. That includes those in small business and those in regional, rural and remote Australia. I would like in particular to thank the member for Indi for her continued good-faith engagement on Jobs and Skills Australia. The government has accepted the substance of the member's proposed amendment to this bill, and it will be included in the government amendments.

The government amendment recognises the importance of regional, rural and remote Australians and the expertise, knowledge and lived experience they can provide to the proposed Ministerial Advisory Board. That's why we're ensuring they're given a voice in the tripartite model which will be enshrined in legislation. The government is determined to maintain genuine partnerships with stakeholders and always acknowledges the importance of small business to Australia's economy and our workforce and the importance of small-business expertise in understanding the labour market and skills related issues faced in the economy.

We know that over 2.5 million small and family businesses are operating in Australia, representing 97 per cent of all Australian businesses, with many experiencing skill shortages, including access to skills development for small-business owners and operators themselves. To recognise our commitment to ensuring small business continues to have a voice in Jobs and Skills Australia's advice, the government has proposed an amendment to the composition of its tripartite Ministerial Advisory Board. The number of members representing the interests of employers will increase from three to four, allowing scope to guarantee the appointment of a member representing the interests of small business. To ensure industry balance of the board, the number of members representing workers will similarly increase from three to four. These amendments will ensure that Jobs and Skills Australia's analysis and advice will be even better informed by the experiences of those in the labour market, which enables government to develop targeted policies, programs and funding to address issues within the jobs and skills system.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the government amendments be agreed to.