Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How will the passage today of the Albanese Labor government's Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 deliver better pay and safety for Australian workers?

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hunter for the question and acknowledge that from the moment he arrived here he's been arguing that we need to close the labour hire loophole. We're going to do that today. Today is a great day for workers across Australia. Today's legislation will make workplaces across Australia safer. Today's legislation will also stop underpayments by closing the labour hire loophole and finally making wage theft a crime. I want to thank those members of the Senate crossbench who were part of this—the Australian Greens, Senator Lambie, Senator David Pocock and Senator Lidia Thorpe. I want to acknowledge, though, that those opposite did what they have always done. Once again, when given the chance, which way do you vote on wage theft being a crime?

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

I'll hear the Manager of Opposition Business on a point of order.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance, the question was commendably tightly drafted in talking about Australian workers. There was no reference to the opposition. The Leader of the House has gone straight there. He's outside of the terms of the question and should be directed back to the question.

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

The question was about the passage of today's legislation. Obviously, the minister, in his answer, is going to talk about what happened in the passage of the legislation, so he is being directly relevant in his answer. And, in continuation, he'll be heard in silence.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some of those opposite, in particular, might not be aware of just how unfair the labour hire loophole is, and so I want to repeat an account given by the member for Hunter himself from when he worked in the coal industry. There were five workers in a car, and he was one of them—I don't know how you got five people in the car when he was one of them—and the five of them would drive to work together. All five were doing the same job. All five were on the same roster. Three of them were directly employed, and the other two were labour hire. The difference in wages for those people with the same qualification on the same shift was, each year, a total of $30,000. Simply because there was technically a different employer, miners were earning $30,000 a year less.

Imagine if some of the companies that have been responsible for this behaviour had spent a little bit less on advertising and a little bit more on paying their workers. But, when it was simply asked of them why they were using this way of underpaying staff, the answer was, 'Well, it's legal.' Well, it's not going to be legal anymore. It's not going to be legal anymore, and, after question time today, the message will come back to this House and the final part of the passage of this legislation will be before us. So far, this term alone, when it's come to the passage of legislation, those opposite have voted 34 times to keep wages low. The final chance will come this afternoon to vote on whether or not they believe wage theft should be a crime and whether or not it's time to close the loopholes that see workers underpaid.

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

The member for Page is warned. When a minister concludes their answer and I'm about to call a member, that is not the time to interject. He knows that, so he's now warned. That's no more interjecting from the member for Page.