Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I get into my contribution, I would like to acknowledge in the chamber the Mayor of Tambo, Dougal Davidson, and the Mayor of Aramac, Gary Peoples. These two mayors have come down all the way from far western Queensland in a last, desperate attempt to stand up for their shires. The two of them are here but they represent many, many mayors and local government representatives who do not have the chance to come down. I welcome them to the gallery and I welcome them to listen to this debate taking place, because I know the effort that both of these well-respected mayors have put into their local towns and the success they have had. I know that they feel passionately that their citizens—I think there are 700 people in Tambo and roughly the same number in Aramac—are going to be very seriously affected.

The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Democratic Plebiscites) Bill 2007 will allow the Australian Electoral Commission to undertake any plebiscite on the amalgamation of any local government body in any part of Australia. The bill amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 to authorise the AEC’s use and disclosure of any information held by the AEC, including information contained in an electoral roll, for the purpose of conducting an activity, such as a plebiscite, under subsection 7A(1). Additionally, the bill seeks to override a state or territory law which prohibits, penalises or discriminates against a person or a body who has entered or proposes to enter into an arrangement with the AEC or who takes part in or assists with, or proposes to take part in or assist with, an arrangement with the AEC.

I call this bill the ‘Restore Democracy to Queensland Bill’. The Beattie government legislated to stop Queenslanders expressing their opinion over local council amalgamations. It was a shocking thing to do, a grave error of judgement. We in the National Party and the Liberal Party had to act, and this bill is the coalition government’s response. Thanks to this bill, the Queensland Premier realised he was on a hiding to nothing and was forced to back down. However, there are still questions as to the legality of his backdown, so it is important to pass this bill to be absolutely sure that Queensland councillors are safe from penalty in organising plebiscites seeking their citizens’ opinion of amalgamations. It will also act as a deterrent to any state or territory government trying to do the same thing ever again.

The extent of the Queensland Labor government’s deceit on this issue continues to be revealed. This week we saw the rejection of an FOI request for the state government’s polling on council amalgamations. This polling was heavily relied on by the Labor government to prosecute their case for amalgamations, saying that their polling proved most people wanted it. The Local Government Association of Queensland put in an FOI request for the polling but, lo and behold, it was refused.

What is obvious to anyone is that the polling was not overwhelmingly positive, as Premier Beattie indicated. There was something to hide so they hid it, as Labor hide so many things, behind the cabinet paper defence. Then we have the issue of union involvement, which perhaps lies at the very heart of these amalgamations. Unionists are stacking the transitional committees which pave the way for the amalgamated identities. Unelected unionists now have these positions of power. Some unionists are on more than one of these committees, some are on one, some are on eight, and one is on four. They are affecting the dynamics of the way the current councils will come together in new merged entities. They are in the position of being able to make or break decisions that favour one group or another. They have the power to block or advance policies but they are unelected. They should not have that power, especially when democratically elected local councillors are forced to the sidelines of their own communities.

Despite a low level of union membership in the council workforce, union officials constitute almost half the committees and are in a position to determine the outcome of major decisions. One shire council has more union reps on their transitional committee than they have union members. Those members and their workforce do not represent the community. Half the union reps actually live more than 500 kilometres away from the shire, because they just have not got any union members in that shire; they have got to import them. Union organiser and failed ALP member for Burdekin, Steve Rodgers, has been appointed to no fewer than four council transitional committees: Townsville, Cassowary Coast, Cairns and the Tablelands. There are just not enough unionists to go around. How is it that Steve Rodgers, rejected by the electorate in 2001, is now better qualified than democratically elected councillors to make major decisions for Queensland communities? These committees have been established to make all the structural, financial and operational decisions for the new regional councils. And who is dominating these committees? None other than failed Labor politicians and union hacks. They are determining the future of communities where they have never lived and they have never been elected.

Labor could not care less about council workers. All they are interested in is handing power to their union mates. Their agenda is not about building stronger councils; it is about building stronger trade unions and entrenching union power in the council workforce. That is why Bill Ludwig has been so silent on the thousands of local jobs that Labor are destroying in Queensland. Why speak up when there is a cash cow of workers’ pay packets coming your way? But the union involvement goes much further. This week there have been reports of threats made to council workers that they would get the sack under amalgamation unless they paid up and joined a union. This is nothing but blackmail and union standover tactics legislated for by a Labor government—a leopard that does not change its spots. State or federal, it is the same leopard.

Reports have surfaced that union representatives have told council workers that those who are union members will retain their jobs and those who are not will not have a job. Of the 37,000 council employees currently in Queensland, only 10 to 25 per cent are union members. That is thousands of council workers who could be threatened into paying union membership of more than $400 each, because they are being told by militant union bosses that it is the only way that their jobs will be safe. The unions stand to gain millions of dollars by threatening council workers into becoming members. Council employees are expected to soon be dragooned into a statutory body for the AWU to feed on. That question was asked in the state house, and Mr Beattie refused to say that it was not the case. He skated around it. This is the type of ‘let’s reward the unions’ strategy that comes into play whenever Labor is in power. Look at who is being touted as the next member for Beattie’s seat: Queensland union chief Grace Grace. It does not matter that the frontman smiles; it is who stands behind and gets the power that matters; and, in Labor in Queensland, unionists have the power and the ordinary people do not even get a say. That is what it would be like under a Rudd federal Labor government. People should be warned, because this is a preview of what it will be like if the government changes.

Today, because the coalition is in government federally, we can restore the democratic rights of Queenslanders to have their say. If we were not here, that would never happen. Thankfully, today we have a Prime Minister who is prepared to do something about rogue state Labor governments. The federal Leader of the Opposition, Mr Rudd, knows that what Beattie did was wrong; he said so. But did he do anything about it? No, because ultimately he is not the one with the power. He is the smiling frontman, essentially weak. Did Labor come up with this bill before us today to restore democracy in Queensland? No. If federal Labor are really so concerned, where is their bill to right the wrongs of their state Labor colleagues? It is nowhere. Mr Rudd can talk the talk but he cannot walk the walk. When the Beattie government decided not to allow a referendum or plebiscite on the amalgamation issue, The Nationals were very concerned. This led to the Prime Minister offering funding for the Australian Electoral Commission to undertake plebiscites on local amalgamations. As the Prime Minister said:

It is a total travesty of democracy to not only refuse to consult with people about what you are going to do that affects them, but, having refused to consult, threaten to punish them if they dare to express their opinion in a vote.

This government is not expressing a view as to whether or not individual mergers should occur. Rather, the Commonwealth believes that people should have the right to express a view on the actions of a government without threat of penalty. Surely this is a fundamental democratic right, a fundamental Australian right—one that Labor tried to abolish. The majority of evidence before the Senate committee was critical of the actions of the Queensland government and expressed strong support for this bill. Subsequent to The Nationals championing of the democratic rights of Queenslanders, the Queensland Premier has introduced a bill to amend the ban on plebiscites. Premier Beattie is reported as saying:

Perhaps we were a bit heavy-handed in relation to that—

the question of holding plebiscites—

and we got that wrong… That part of it we stuffed up. But if people want the right to protest we should allow that. I obviously got that wrong.

Well, he got that right. The new Premier, Premier Bligh, now has the opportunity to put it all right by revisiting the whole process of forced amalgamations.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration was of the view that there remains a degree of uncertainty surrounding the status of the punitive provisions. It also noted that it was unusual for subordinate legislative instruments, such as a regulation, to amend primary legislation. The committee further noted that, at the time of writing, the amending bill remains listed on the Queensland parliament Notice Paper and is yet to be debated. As a result, the committee was reluctant to assume that the punitive provisions of the Queensland legislation have been withdrawn until it receives confirmation that that is actually the case. The passage of this bill will provide protection in the event those provisions are not repealed or similar legislation is again introduced.

The extent of the lack of consultation with affected communities was felt hardest in the Torres Strait. As one witness told the committee, and I think this is very important:

There was no proper consultation throughout our region. It really distresses me. We are talking about a region that looks after more services than any other shire in the region, because we also deal with an international treaty right throughout our region. I would love to see how the Mayor of Cook Shire or the Mayor of Douglas Shire would deal with 10 canoes sitting on the beach with people with diseases ranging from TB and dengue to HIV.

That is what these people do in the Torres Strait. They are the back door to Australia.