Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill is a further example of the coalition's lust for corporatising every aspect of our lives. There have always been different regulations and legislation for registered organisations and corporations to reflect the differences in purpose and motivations of unions, employer groups and corporations.

The facts are that under Labor the financial accountability standards applied to registered organisations—that is, trade unions and employer groups—have never been higher. The powers of the Fair Work Commission have never been stronger and penalties have never been tougher, and there are already requirements in the legislation governing registered organisations for officers to act with care and diligence, to act in good faith, not to improperly use their position nor to improperly use information they have obtained through acting as a member of an organisation.

Minister Shorten introduced significant reforms to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act a little under a year ago—reforms that tripled penalties for breaches of the legislation; that required that the rules of all registered organisations deal with disclosure of remuneration, pecuniary and financial interests; that required that education and training be provided to officials of registered organisations about their governance and accounting obligations; and that enhanced the investigative powers available to Fair Work Australia. Without allowing time to test their effectiveness, Senator Abetz and those opposite simply seek to create fear in the community. Instead of allowing time for these changes to be bedded down, those opposite have mounted a weak argument for further change. In reality this bill is a cruel, backhanded attack on Australian workers' rights to organise and to collectively bargain. Liberals say they want corporate law standards, but you do not hear a peep out of them when ASIC prosecute company directors. Between 2002 and 2012, I understand that ASIC completed over 2,400 court proceedings, including 385 criminal convictions which led to 212 imprisonments, yet there is no outrage from the opposition on that, not even a peep. Their endgame is the supposed free-market state where there are two types: the haves and the have-nots. They do not propose measures to boost equity or to boost participation in workplace relations and employment. They propose stunts.

We all remember 26 November last year, amid all the smear that the coalition was peddling in the lower house the Leader of the Opposition briefed the newspapers that he would suspend standing orders and introduce a private member's bill that would toughen standards for union leaders. As such, an article appeared in that day's Australian newspaper. Later in the day, Mr Abbott gave an interview where he again repeated that there would be legislation introduced. Was legislation introduced? No. Did we hear any more? No. All stunts, no substance. Now that the bill has finally been presented, it is being dressed up as necessary in the public interest. Naturally, if there were significant public interest, there would have at least been a handful of submissions in support of this bill. How many were there? Two. Yes, just two. For all their yelling and screaming, for all the abuse that those opposite are hurling at hardworking Australians who want to be members of a union, all that abuse has led to only two submissions in support of the bill.

And from where, you might ask? The first was from the Liberals' friends at the Institute of Public Affairs. The second was from the Liberal state government of New South Wales. In his submission, the New South Wales industrial relations minister admitted that New South Wales's own legislation provides penalties far lower than those prescribed in this bill. If there were some overwhelming public interest then I would have thought there would have been more than just a couple of submissions in support of this bill, that there would have been thousands of people lining up to have a swipe at the employees and officials of registered organisations. Or is it just those opposite that seek to demonise the employees and officials of trade unions and employee groups? It just shows how out of touch the Liberals are—