David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose a bill with a dishonest name. It's the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017. It doesn't promote fair work and it doesn't protect vulnerable workers. Like other industrial relations legislation, it destroys jobs and the lives of people who could fill those jobs. The bill raises penalties for paying a consenting adult $18 an hour, because the ban on low-skilled work, euphemistically called the minimum wage, is set at $18.29. This kills jobs, particularly for those unemployed Australians who are young, mature—or mature-ish, like me—disabled, have poor English or are fresh out of jail. Supporters of the minimum wage, to my left and right, are crushing the hopes of the most disadvantaged Australians. It is immoral.

The bill before us today also hits franchisors with $100,000 fines when someone else, a franchisee, does not comply with the fair work law, even though the franchisor does not know about, help or encourage the noncompliance. This is unjust. It's like a wrathful God incensed by the sins of the father and visiting them upon the son. It will also stop the franchise business model in its tracks. Australia will be forced back into the 1970s where, instead of a franchise restaurant or cafe, we ate at a local greasy spoon and, instead of ducking into an IGA to pick up some groceries, we would be lucky if we picked up a wilted lettuce at a dusty corner store. Businesses will become more and more reluctant to offer budding entrepreneurs a franchise, which is an easy way for them to start their own business. Instead, thousands of budding entrepreneurs will have to continue to work for the man, rather than become their own boss.

I will be moving amendments to soften the edges of this bill's attack on the franchise model. The Franchise Council of Australia, and many others, advised the Senate committee reviewing this bill that only those franchisors who influence their franchisees' employment arrangements should be held responsible for a franchisee's noncompliance with employment law. The Senate committee recommended consideration of an amendment along these lines. I will move such an amendment, to be co-sponsored by Senator Bernardi. My amendment will add a condition to the definition of 'responsible franchisor entity' so that not only does the franchisor need to have a significant degree of influence or control over the franchisee's affairs but also the influence or control must relate to the franchisee's compliance with workplace laws. It won't be sufficient if a franchisor only has influence over the size of the pickle in a franchisee's Big Mac.

My amendment will also make a corresponding change to the related civil remedy provisions. Currently, these provisions establish a contravention if the responsible franchisor entity knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, that its franchisee would fail to comply with workplace laws. They also establish a contravention if a body corporate knew, or could reasonably be expected to have known, that its subsidiary would fail to comply with workplace laws. With my amendment, the contraventions would arise only if the franchisor or body corporate would know these things, or ought to know these things, in the ordinary course of business. So, if a franchisor hears from a loudmouth taxi driver that his barber said that he heard from his next door neighbour that the franchisee is paying below the minimum wage, the franchisor won't have broken the law simply because of these Chinese whispers.

This is a bill of the Liberal-National government and it is furiously supported by Labor and the Greens. These major parties pretend that fairness can be achieved by making a declaration in legislation rather than through voluntary deals struck between established businesses, budding entrepreneurs and workers. The Liberal Democrats stand against this madness. Just like the emperor has no clothes, the fair work system actually isn't fair.