Bob Day (SA, Family First Party) Share this | Hansard source

( We hear a lot in this place about what employers want and we hear a lot about what unions want, but what about what the unemployed want? They want a job. My home state of South Australia now has the worst unemployment in the nation. My question is: who is going in to bat for the unemployed? They have no voice. We have a voice. Unions have a voice. Employers and business have a voice, but who is there to speak up, to judge fairly and to defend the rights of the poor, the needy and the unemployed? Who will release them from this regulation prison? They cannot escape. They are told, 'We have to lock you up in this regulation prison for your own good because you might be exploited if we let you out.'

These regulations make it illegal for the unemployed to work on terms and conditions which suit them. I ask: why should it be illegal for an unemployed person to say to a cafe owner, 'I'm unemployed. I'm getting five dollars an hour. I see you're closed on Sundays. Can I work for you for $20 an hour?' That would be illegal. This is 2015. We are in the area of Uber, Netflix, Spotify and Tesla. It is high time we let the unemployed out of the regulation prison and into the 21st century.