Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

For the Greens this issue goes to the heart and the intention of this legislation. It is about removing even more workers from a regulatory system that protects their rights at work. A critical element of this legislation is that it takes them further away from any structured process where they can have their conditions protected. As I articulated in my second reading contribution and as has been said in the chamber today, there is a contradiction in terms of a worker being defined as an employee under common law and the taxation act when, under this legislation, it only applies to common law. What is good enough for the taxation act should be good enough for this piece of legislation.

The legislation clearly moves the balance even more in favour of employers and leaves employees further out in the cold. It makes it even easier for employers to shift people so they become so-called independent contractors and thus exempts them from the further requirements of providing the normal conditions that people expect as an employee rather than an independent contractor. By failing to define what an employee is it makes a farce of the supposed intent of the legislation. Basically, it makes a farce of the whole legislation. The Greens will be supporting the Democrats’ amendments. I think Senator Murray provided an excellent articulation of the deep faults and flaws in this legislation as it applies to the definition of employees.