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

I will sort this out later with Senator Edwards. He thinks that he is quite comical when we are talking about road safety.

I had joined the union in 1976. When I became an owner-driver, I was that smart; my boss told me that because I was an owner-driver I did not need to be in the union. I thought, 'Okay, that is fine.' It took me a year to work out that—hang on—he had just pulled the wool over my eyes. So in 1981 at Wridgways all I wanted was a decent, safe and sustainable wage, and income for my small business—my tiny business: me, and then in 1982 it became me and my wife. So I joined the union again.

For 30 years I have been fighting for safe, sustainable rates. But these guys up there did it. I did not do it. I could not do it. We actually had the ability under the leadership of Tony Sheldon, ably assisted by Michael Kaine, the national assistant secretary of the Transport Workers Union. I notice Peter Biagini up there, the Queensland branch secretary—it is great to see you, Pete. And there have been a gaggle of hardworking owner-drivers and wives who have pushed like heck to one day see this dream come true, and today it is going to come true. I will now celebrate, but in sharing my celebrations I am also very mindful that I want to give my friend and my colleague from Queensland Senator Mark Furner the ability to have some words as well. So I will surrender some of my time.

But what I would like to do, with your indulgence, Madam Acting Deputy President, is to say very, very clearly that there is nonsense being peddled by those who do not under any circumstances support small businesses; when they come out with this load of wallop about there being no link between safety and remuneration, they do not know what they are talking about. I am telling you, as an owner-driver, there is a damn strong link. Do you think that as an owner-driver I would drive, and my colleagues out there who are still doing it would drive, when feeling absolutely RS? You feel absolutely shattered because you have probably had about eight or 10 hours sleep in the last two or three days.

In Western Australia in the 70s and 80s when I started trucking, we did not have fatigue management. Well, actually we did. Once you bumped over one of those little white posts with the red reflector on it—uh-oh—it was time to manage your fatigue. That was our fatigue management. Do you think we truckies got home feeling like trash every week because we loved to feel like trash? We felt like that because our rates of pay did not adequately provide us with the ability to have a minimum of eight hours sleep. Senator Joyce's contribution—balanced, heartfelt. Senator Abetz—what an absolute disgrace.

But with the little time I have left I do wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank some very special people who need to be thanked. There are the Baldwins, Irene and Ian, and the Western Australian ladies who came to the parliament last week and the week before, as Senator Xenophon mentioned: Lystra Tagliaferri and Lisa Sawyer—and I will not go into it, but we know they lost their husband and brother—and Suzanne De Beer and her mother-in-law Johanna De Beer, whom I met, who had come across from South Africa. Suzanne had lost her husband and Johanna had lost her son. To the TWU drivers and delegates: Frank Black—you've already got one plug, mate, but I'll give you another one, good onya, cobber!; Mark Trevellian; Dale Haining; Euan Scott-Bell; Ray Childs; Billy Burka; Ian Vaughan; Paul Freyer; Alan Taylor; John Waltis; Paul Dewberry; Dudley Wellard; Dennis Wilcox; Paul Walsh; Tony McNulty; my old mate George Clarke—love you, Georgie, great work!; Charles Mackay; Arthur Fasoulis; Paul Remadeno; Robert Ireland; Andrew Villias; Robert Burles; Graham Batten; and Brad Webster.

To the TWU Veterans, who I enjoyed a cup of coffee with the other day with, and we manage to meet every time we are in New South Wales as our federal-state councils and conferences: Dave Lupton, Brian Thomas, Peter Cooley, Steve Whittick, Col Neal and Kevin Sweeney. It is great they are still around to enjoy this dream that has come true.

To my very, very dear friend and blood brother Jimmy McGiveron from WA: Jimmy, fantastic mate, you gave me my start in the union movement and I dearly thank you for that. I still have not escaped the clutches and we are still out there battling. I will be battling alongside him till the day I fall.

To my good mate Senator Alex Gallacher: well done, brother! I know how hard you fought for owner-drivers and Australia's truckies all these years.

On that note, Madam Acting Deputy President, I could go on for the next hour with a gobful of marbles under cement, but I do want my friend and colleague Senator Mark Furner to have his opportunity to speak. I commend the bill to the Senate.

An incident having occurred in the gallery—