Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I indicate that I support the government’s amendments. They are a significant and substantial improvement on the original bill, and I think that is a good thing. They take into account the Privacy Commissioner’s concerns, so the government has done that. I think, to put this in historical perspective, these rights are not significantly different from those that existed pre Work Choices but, in fact, they have been tempered by the privacy provisions and the penalties that are anticipated in these amendments—and that is a good thing in terms of getting that balance right.

I express my thanks to the government for agreeing to the amendment on the right of entry with respect to TCF outworkers, because I believe that is a different category and that the requirement for 24 hours notice ought to be waived. If you look at what the right of entry is supposed to do, it is to enable investigation of potential breaches. As for the outworkers provision, if you give the fly-by-night operators, the sweatshops—to use that term—or the backyard operators 24 hours notice, there will be nothing to see, nothing to investigate, no books and no records. That is why I think it is fundamentally important that, if we look at some of the most exploited and vulnerable workers, those TCF outworkers, there be an opportunity for a right of entry that is not contingent upon 24 hours notice. So I believe that is a fundamental improvement.

It would be anomalous indeed if this clause were not passed, because it would mean that outworkers would not have any real protection in terms of the benefits that would arise from a right of entry. I commend that to my colleagues, although I do not think I need to convince my colleagues in the Greens about those particular provisions. I think we have got an improved set of provisions in relation to the right of entry, taking into account the privacy considerations as set out by the Privacy Commissioner in the inquiry process, which was a very useful exercise. So I am hoping that this set of amendments will be passed.