Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Memorable is the word that I will use, Senator Hutchins, for fear of a glass flying across the chamber at me. Senators opposite said that they would die in a ditch over these fantastic Australian workplace agreements. Senator Johnston, the last time I looked at you you looked alive and well, and you certainly were not in a ditch. Western Australian Liberal senators said that they would die in a ditch to keep these and that the employers being represented by ACCI would all die in a ditch to keep them. But what came out of the Senate estimates through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations was—wait for this—that their figures show that probably five per cent to seven per cent of Australians are on Australian workplace agreements.

I have already said that they were very popular in mining. They are popular in construction. And they were also supposedly popular in those other industries such as contract cleaning, contract security and hospitality. If they were that damn popular, why are only five per cent to seven per cent of Australians on them? That just sends the message home—in my interpretation—that not all employers wanted them. A host of employers were quite happy having collective agreements. A host of employers were happy having union negotiated agreements. A host of employers were happy to have the award system. For those five per cent to seven per cent who used them, the arguments do not stack up.

While I am on this, there was overwhelming evidence once again from those industries that were not directly employed in mining that they grossly undervalued the workers. Some of the employers could not help disadvantage not only their employees but also their clients. I support improvement. I support moving with the times. I support taking conditions and wages and moulding them to suit not only the employee but the employer. Employers employ Australians who may choose to be a member of a union and those who do not.

I will present one reason why we need an umpire, fairness, laws and rules. In the West Australian newspaper on Friday, 14 March there was an article that talks about a very high profile builder in Western Australia. He is high profile for a number of reasons. One is that he loves to come out and fight with the CFMEU. That is between him and the CFMEU—I am sure that they will sort that out between themselves. His notoriety is highlighted here. Low and behold, he got caught exploiting foreign workers—migrant workers from the Philippines. This is a very high profile builder who happens to be a donor to the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party. There is nothing wrong with being to a donor to the Liberal Party, but here we have people saying that they will die in a ditch to keep Australian workplace agreements while a major employer gets caught red-handed exploiting foreign workers. I will quote from the West Australian:

Migrant workers claim controversial builder Gerry Hanssen, who has been fined a record $174,000—

How do reputable employers get fined $174,000? For exploiting workers. It goes on:

... lured them to Australia with false promises of free airfares, accommodation and tools.

The article goes on to say that the migrant workers:

... claimed that six months after they arrived in Perth, Mr Hanssen, who is a Liberal Party State councillor—

yes, he is a state councillor—

gave them only one day to consider a new Australian Workplace Agreement which removed the benefits, despite being aware they would sign anything for fear of deportation.

The article goes on:

Outside the court on Wednesday, Workplace Ombudsman Nick Wilson accused Mr Hanssen of threatening the workers with dismissal and deportation unless they agreed not to date their AWAs.

Further:

The workers, who did not want to be named—

and I can understand why—

said yesterday they had paid back their airfare and bought their own tools. They said they lived in constant fear of deportation, which one described as a ‘psychological war,’ and that they were too scared to decline being rostered to work 12-hour days for six or seven days each week.

It all goes back to this. I say once again that there are a host of very decent Australian employers out there. But they are being undermined by the ratbag minority who were given the chance to exploit anyone using laws that those on the other side passed. I know that some of the senators opposite could not hold their heads very high. I know that some of the senators opposite had the same fears that Labor had. (Time expired)