Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Hansard source

It's hard to follow that outstanding contribution, but I'll do my very best. I rise tonight with some concerns about this bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Corrupting Benefits) Bill 2017, which I've spoken with the minister about, and I have made some suggested amendments which, contrary to other assertions in this place, the minister has said she will look towards accepting and resolving. I say 'contrary to other assertions' because, somehow, there is a mythology about how those on that side of the chamber are supportive of a clean and transparent union movement and those on this side of the chamber are somehow opposed to the union movement—and it's not quite as binary as that at all.

I and Australian Conservatives support the right of the people to work together cooperatively and to form gilds and trade unions to represent their interests. I, personally, don't believe that the union movement's interests or the workers' interests and the business owners' interests should be diametrically opposed—in fact, quite the opposite. My experience has been that good employers, particularly in small businesses, go out of their way to look after workers. They go out of their way to look after those who they feel a responsibility towards, both a financial one and a personal one. They accommodate requests and demands that are outside the scope of any formal agreement because it is a cooperative venture. By that I mean, without employers, you don't have employees and, quite frankly, without employees, you don't have a union movement—a union movement which has become somewhat engorged and somewhat recalcitrant in some aspects and has become, indeed, a law unto itself. That concerns me, and it should concern a lot of people. That's why, in principle, I support this bill. I will be supporting this bill notwithstanding the fact that it does need some amending, and I'm confident that will take place in the committee stage, before we get to the third reading.

But I do note that, earlier, Senator Doug Cameron, who is one of the hardliners in the space, said, 'There will be no negotiation. The minister refused to discuss and negotiate.' That's not my experience. I just want to put that on the record. The minister has been very cooperative and very helpful. She hasn't got everything that she wanted from me as a result. Nonetheless, I found that to be a very positive effect.

The Dyson Heydon royal commission on trade unions had this headline finding:

It is clear that in many parts of the world constituted by Australian trade union officials, there is room for louts, thugs, bullies, thieves, perjurers, those who threaten violence, errant fiduciaries and organisers of boycotts …

I don't know too many people who think that's a respectable finding from a royal commission or think that's an appropriate contribution from sections of the trade union movement to Australian business. It is little wonder that our competitiveness is struggling and that we have difficulties with smaller businesses who are competing with larger businesses who, it turns out, in many instances, are in bed, figuratively, with the union movement.

I welcome the decision by the coalition to attempt to legislate their election commitment. It's worth noting that it took several times to legislate their previous commitments on the royal commission. It takes persistence, it takes courage, it takes resilience in the face of an ongoing diatribe in some respects and public abuse. It took the calling of a double dissolution election to prompt it—