Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not saying that you propose that, but certainly some of the rhetoric you hear from the other side is that small business can do no wrong. Small business can do a lot of wrong. Small businesses can egregiously rip off workers. They can steal from workers. It is our job as the legislature to make sure that vulnerable workers are not dealt with wrongly or illegally. These are the issues we are happy to sit down and talk to you about.

We certainly support the Fair Work Ombudsman having general oversight and the power to deal with workers, but it's got to be done fairly. It hasn't got to be done on the basis of what we've discovered tonight because the minister has given the game away that this is about industrial action. That has not been raised anywhere until tonight. I think that part of the problem with this minister and with this government is that they will use any argument, any sleight of hand, any name for a bill—for example, calling it 'protecting vulnerable workers' bill when in reality it really is about trying to stop workers taking industrial action. We are not going to accept that. We are very concerned about that. We have come here with a range of amendments that are genuinely put for proper purposes, purposes consistent with what this minister says this bill is about: protecting vulnerable workers. It is not about imposing further restrictions on the genuine operation of bargaining and industrial action in this country. We are not going to accept for a minute what really is behind some of the views of this government to further restrict workers.

The Reserve Bank says there are problems because of low wage growth. Why have we got low wage growth? It is because we have some of the worst industrial laws in the advanced world. They make it so hard. The Reserve Bank is raising concerns about low wage growth and the implications that has for employment, a growing economy and inequality in this country. These are the issues we are concerned about. What we are putting here are amendments that are fair, proper and go to protecting vulnerable workers. It should not be a Trojan Horse to attack the trade union movement. It's about protecting vulnerable workers.

Progress reported.