Lin Thorp (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

No, not supporting. Don't you think, Mr Acting Deputy President, that if there were real public interest in the bill there would have been more people putting in submissions? I would have thought so. It is a clear display of how out of touch the Liberals are with workplace relations policy. And there is no greater threat to workers in Australia than the threat of an Abbott-led Liberal government. We know from the history of those opposite that the Liberals do not support unfair dismissal protections for millions of Australian workers.

Speaking of workplace relations policy, where is the workplace relations policy of those opposite? The coalition will go to any lengths to criticise Labor's workplace relations policy, but we know, and I think the Australian people know, they are all talk and no action. Mr Abbott is deceiving the Australian public about their policy intentions in this place, and it is quite dishonest and dishonourable. The Abbott approach is an approach that would result in poor outcomes for Australian workers and poor outcomes for the Australian people.

Compare this approach to the positive policies and outcomes that the Gillard Labor government has achieved for Australian workers. More Australians are in work than ever before in our nation's history. I can proudly say that 11.6 million Australians are in work today. Industrial disputes are down. Since this government has been in office we have created 900,000 new jobs.    We are more productive as a nation and more of us are employed. There is greater job security and much greater job opportunities for all Australians. All these factors lead to improved job security and job opportunities. The Australian Labor Party is all about creating jobs and employment and protecting the jobs we have got. We are all about protecting the workers, and this is why the Gillard Labor government has recently introduced legislation to establish a Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal. This tribunal will have the ability to set pay or pay-related conditions to ensure safe driving practices for the trucking industry—for real people.

In conclusion, the range of remedies that are currently stipulated under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act are suitable, practical and sufficient for an industrial context. These regulations ensure there is financial accountability and transparency in the running of registered organisations. We must be reminded that corporations and organisations are different in nature. They are different both in practice and in legal application. Their aims are different and their purpose is different.

Corporations act to generate wealth and advance the financial interests of their shareholders. Corporations are concerned with the interests of their shareholders and therefore the laws which regulate the behaviour of corporations aim to protect the rights of shareholders, as they rightly should be. On the other hand, registered organisations are established to represent the rights of their members, whether their members are employers or employees. Laws which regulate unions aim to protect the members of those organisations by acting to ensure they have fair pay and conditions and acting to protect their rights. These aims go hand in hand with the aims of the labour movement, which has always fought to uphold decent pay and conditions in order to promote and protect a fair go for all Australian workers.