Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted

The speech read as follows—

I rise to reintroduce the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 because this Government stands on the side of the honest worker and is absolutely committed to ensure that we never again have a situation, like occurred in the Health Services Union, where union bosses can rip off union members.

The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill implements the Government's election commitment outlined in the 'Policy for Better Transparency and Accountability of Registered Organisations'. It will enhance the accountability and transparency of registered organisations by broadly aligning the obligations of office holders, penalties and powers of the regulator with the Corporations Act 2001.

The bill increases civil penalties and introduces criminal offences for serious breaches of officers' duties similar to those applicable under the Corporations Act. The bill also establishes the Registered Organisations Commission as independent but within the Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Most importantly, especially for those opposite who claim this to be a partisan venture, the policy principles behind this bill are supported by Simon Crean, Martin Ferguson, Robert McClelland, Paul Howes, Ian Cambridge and Steve Purvinas—all doyens of the labour movement. The bill also addresses concerns raised in the Federal Court by Justice Anthony North who said that the penalties under the existing legislation are 'beneficially low to wrong doers'.

This legislation will bring penalties in line with the Corporations Act because we believe that there is no difference between a dodgy company director ripping off shareholders and a dodgy union boss ripping off members.

I want to absolutely stress, that the only people who have anything to fear from this bill are those who are doing the wrong thing. I also want to re-affirm that the Government firmly believes that the vast majority of officers of registered organisations do the right thing.

I note that the Senate earlier this week defeated this bill, but it is important to recognise that the debate was quite bizarre in that the primary reasons that the Opposition opposed the bill are in fact actually issues already enshrined in the legislation as it currently stands today and is in full force. The onerous disclosure obligations that currently exist were in fact imposed by the Leader of the Opposition when he was Minister for Workplace Relations and will be removed under the Government's bill.

For example, the Government moved amendments to remove unnecessary disclosure requirements on officers and organisations that were first included by the previous Government's 2012 amendments to the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.

They align disclosure requirements more closely with long standing governance and accountability provisions under the Corporations Act 2001.

We have moved amendments to section 293C, which relate to disclosure of material personal interests of officers. This will significantly reduce the number of officers who will be required to make disclosures. The amendments ensure that:

-arise because they are a member of a registered organisation and the interest is held in common with other members;

-arise in relation to their remuneration as an officer;

-relate to a contract the organisation is proposing to enter into that needs to be approved by members and will only impose obligations if approved by members; or

-if the interest is in a contract with a related party and arises merely because the officer is on the Board of the related party; or if the officer has given standing notice of their interest.

These are all issues that were identified by Labor as problems. They are problems that exist in the law as it stands today. They are problems created by Labor and we will fix them with this bill.

As my colleague the Minister for Employment has said previously, there is only one major party in this place that supports a clean and honest union movement. And it is not the party of the unions. In opposing this bill in the other place, the Opposition demonstrated that it has learned nothing, that its first instinct is to protect crooked union bosses rather than honest union members. This bill, had it been in place, would have protected union members from the likes of Craig Thomson and Michael Williamson. By not supporting the bill, the Opposition is leaving union members at the mercy of future Craig Thomsons and Michael Williamsons.

I won't seek to cover the bill in further detail given that this is a reintroduction. I simply call on all Members to support honest union members and honest union bosses by supporting this bill.

I commend the bill to the Senate.