Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the government's so-called 'ensuring integrity' bill, the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill 2019. Unfortunately, integrity is not a characteristic that could be attributed to the proponents of this bill or its odious contents. The legislation we are discussing today can be categorised only as a cynical and antidemocratic overreach by a government that has made plain its opposition to the rights of workers to organise in the pursuit of a fundamental yet basic concept: a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.

We all know the real motivations behind the pursuit of this bill. The truth is that this legislation is a very deliberate and calculated attempt to weaken the power of Australian workers by attacking their fundamental democratic right to organise through their own trade union movement. It is designed solely to stymie the efforts of the trade union movement to democratically represent and use collective strength to advance the interests of working people. Australia's trade unions already face a rigorous compliance regime aimed at ensuring accountability and proper governance. Let us be clear: this bill is not about improving transparency, accountability or governance. The motivations and intent of this bill are partisan and political, and its effect will be to silence workers and reduce their power in the labour market. Over time, and quicker than many may realise, this will lead to lower pay and weaker conditions for the average Australian worker.

This bill essentially has the effect of making Australia a poorer country by further concentrating wealth and power in the hands of big business at the direct expense of the average Australian worker. Indeed, the bill will enshrine a regime of more onerous standards and processes being enforced on trade unions than anything equivalent being faced by corporations or, indeed, government. These double standards expose the politically-motivated attack inherent within this bill. This bill, as passed in the other place, would make it possible for the minister—indeed, anyone with a sufficient interest, such as disgruntled employers—to shut down unions and deny working people their right to choose their own representatives. It amounts to nothing more than a bold and brazen attack on democracy. It is up to this place to put a stop to that. If these laws were to apply equally to corporations, we would see banks, multinational pizza chains and the restaurants of celebrity chefs close down, as Senator Bilyk said in her contribution. But that is not what is being proposed here. Yet, despite the fact that we've seen countless examples of employers ripping off their workers in recent years, from 7-Eleven to Domino's Pizza, Michael Hill Jeweller and Woolworths, we don't see the government going after them. We don't see legislation to tackle stagnant wages or worker exploitation. The question must be asked: why isn't the government prepared to tackle the issue of wage theft with the same haste and determination?

Labor will not support a bill that makes it harder for workers to get a fair pay rise. We do not support a bill that could leave workers without the representatives that protect them from wage theft, superannuation theft and dangerous workplaces. Workers should get to choose who represents them, not Mr Scott Morrison or Mr Christian Porter.

The bill also seeks to prevent trade union amalgamation. There is no justification for preventing amalgamations. Union amalgamations are overseen by the Australian Electoral Commission. If the members of two unions vote to amalgamate, that is up to them. This goes to the very heart of the democratic principle of freedom of association. Such broad-ranging proposed powers to prevent amalgamation are a clear attack on freedom of association. The government will no doubt claim that this bill is needed to stop certain specific officials; that is just an excuse for this attack on all unions.

The average union member today is female and works in aged care. These are the kinds of workers, whether they are members of a union or not, who will be hurt by this legislation. As our shadow minister Mr Tony Burke has said, it will be workers who just want a decent pay rise, workers who want to be protected from wage theft, workers who want a safe workplace who are punished by these laws. If this bill passes, it will give the government and businesses unprecedented power to drown unions in red tape and legal action. That is ironic from a government that bleats about red-tape reduction—not that it has a real agenda to simplify or improve conditions for Australian small businesses. In fact, the only record this government has on red tape is increasing it, and that is exactly what the government wants. It is not about protecting workers; it is about attacking their political opponents.

This bill would also give more power to the Registered Organisations Commission, the ROC—the body thoroughly politicised and discredited over its role in the AWU raid scandal. Just weeks ago, the Federal Court ruled the AWU search invalid and that the ROC did not have reasonable grounds for conducting the search. And, as we have heard today, the Federal Court officially quashed the Registered Organisations Commission's investigation into the Australian Workers Union and instructed the Australian Federal Police to return all the documents they seized in the botched 2017 raids. That is what we found out today.

The ROC should be abolished. The ROC should not be given sweeping new powers to intervene in the affairs of workers. Labor maintains that allegations of serious breaches by officers of registered organisations, employers groups, and unions should be dealt with by ASIC. After all, if you believe that companies and registered organisations should be treated the same, then surely you should use the same regulator.

This bill also has implications for Australia's international reputation as a democratic and free society. The internationally recognised right to freedom of association and expression is, effectively, subject to antidemocratic veto under this bill. Indeed, the bill plainly violates the government's obligations under conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labour Organization, which go to these matters. For example, article 3 of convention 87 states:

Workers' and employers' organisations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organise their administration and activities and to formulate their programmes.

The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.

It goes on to say, in article 4:

Workers' and employers' organisations shall not be liable to be dissolved or suspended by administrative authority.

Plainly, what this bill seeks to do is in direct contravention to these rights, rights enforced in law by conventions Australia has ratified. Indeed, the International Trade Union Confederation, representing 202 million workers in 163 countries, has gone so far as to say the bill represents 'unparalleled interference in trade union freedoms for a democratic country'. Labor will not support a bill that so clearly breaches our international treaty obligations. We will continue to stand up for the basic and fundamental democratic rights of workers, rights that we would hope in a free society like ours would not be subject to attack by a government hell-bent on weakening its opponents, even at the expense of the livelihoods of ordinary, working Australians.

We can see laid bare the priorities of the government when we compare their approach to undermining the rights and wages of Australian workers with their desire to tackle corruption and misconduct at the highest levels of power. This government, belatedly, but with much fanfare, promised to legislate for a national integrity commission. In fact, they promised it would be in place by now. Where is it? It isn't here. That's because it's not a priority for them. They claim to want to stamp out lawlessness and bad behaviour. What are they doing about corrupt conduct within government? What are they doing to tackle some of the outrageous behaviour that we have seen at the highest levels of corporate Australia? This is hypocrisy of the highest order, because there is no corporate equivalent here. Under the Liberal Party, it is one rule for corporate Australia and a completely different rule for the organisations that represent workers.

Under this bill, even with the amendments proposed, we are talking about the disqualification of union officials or the deregistration of entire organisations for nothing more than minor paperwork breaches. Let's be clear about the double standard here. The Prime Minister has said that, when one of our big four banks has been caught out breaking the law 23 million times, including in relation to serious crimes such as the enabling of money laundering, terrorism and child sex exploitation, it is simply a matter for the board. Well, that's nice! It's all tickety-boo, then! There's nothing to see here! But let's hang on. Just wait a minute. If a union representing and fighting for the rights, wages and conditions of Australian workers commits three paperwork breaches, the Prime Minister believes that should bring down the entire union without the members getting a say. That's members who have paid their dues and expect their right to democratic decision-making to be upheld.

Even with the proposed amendments—those that have been circulated and those that have been whispered out through the media—the bill remains, and will remain, fundamentally unfair. It will still impose a new test on union amalgamations, despite the fact such proposed amalgamations are already heavily regulated and require the democratic approval of union members. It will still give even greater draconian powers to the Registered Organisations Commission, a thoroughly discredited and pointless body which should be abolished, not strengthened. If the government won't abolish ROC, they should probably legislate for a watchdog on the watchdog so that someone is monitoring the ROC's politically motivated activities. Isn't it interesting that the government's decision to release proposed amendments late on Friday afternoon when they hoped nobody would be looking seems as though it may have backfired? That's because not everyone on the crossbench is quick to rush into union-bashing for the sake of union-busting.

Let's take a look at some of those proposed amendments—in particular, the dodgy demerits deal. What we see here is, yet again, further entrenchment of double standards and hypocrisy, where one rule applies to the democratically elected representatives of workers and another to those responsible for serious breaches of corporate law, wage theft and exploitation. On the one hand, we know that the proposed demerit point system, if it had been applied, could have shut down the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union for its campaign to stand up for workers knowingly and, in many tragic cases, fatally exposed to asbestos. Yet, on the other hand, there are no proposals to introduce similar demerit point systems that might apply to dodgy employers who rip off workers and customers. It won't be applied to people like the Liberal Party benefactor and serial industrial law-breaking employer Mr Gerry Hanssen. If that seems wrong—if that seems contrary to public interest, fairness and justice—that's because it is.

Do you know what? Not everyone is buying into this sell-out of Australian workers. Indeed, the Australian people also see through this agenda. They get what this is really about. They understand that this is yet another in a long list of efforts by this government to undermine the work of unions in creating a fairer society in Australia so that ordinary working people, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged can attempt to get a fair go in life. This bill is about yet again swinging the pendulum further towards profit takers and away from wage earners. It's about attacking democracy and weakening rights. It's about undermining fairness in our society and deepening inequality. Indeed, the Centre for Future Work has said the Liberals' aggressive post-election workplace relations agenda could leave private sector workers $2,000 worse off over three years. Think about that—$2,000 worse off. This is no accident. An economy built on the back of low wages is in the DNA of the Liberal Party: grow profits by squeezing wages—that's all they know. Now we hear talk in the media from Liberal backbenchers about watering down other vital workplace protections, like the protection from unfair dismissal. The Prime Minister has failed to rule out pursuing such changes.

Let me turn to the impact this bill will have on my home state of Tasmania. Tasmania's workforce numbers around 250,000, and most union branches in my state are relatively small. Over half of the affiliates to the Tasmanian Trades and Labor Council would have fewer than half a dozen paid employees in Tasmania. Resources can be scarce, but they work hard and in close cooperation with their members to simultaneously meet all existing rigorous compliance requirements whilst also having multiple enterprise bargaining campaigns, supporting individual members who have been mistreated at work, and providing education and support to members. The smaller scale of operations means unions in Tasmania often rely on the involvement of members, effectively in a volunteer capacity, to assist in the important task of advancing the interests of all workers in Tasmania. But this bill would seek—some may say deliberately—to discourage ordinary union members from involving themselves in the administration of their union by imposing burdensome, onerous and unnecessary requirements upon them. We should be encouraging workers to be more involved in their union. That's how we ensure that unions continue to reflect the voice of ordinary working people.

Tasmania already has the lowest full-time adult average weekly earnings in the country. The average weekly wage for a Tasmanian worker before tax is just $1,420. Yet Tasmanian workers are facing rapidly rising costs of all the essentials and, in particular, housing. The squeeze on household budgets is now really starting to bite. The notion that Tasmania is a low-wage state because of its lower living costs must now surely be debunked. Now more than ever, Tasmanian workers need a pay raise. They need to see their living standards improve, not go backwards. They need wage theft to stop. They need strong unions to have resources and capacity to get wages moving again and win job security for Tasmanian families, who need a reliable source of income.

Australian workers need a government that is on their side. They need a government prepared to strengthen the rights and protections Australian workers are entitled to. Workers and families need better wages, secure jobs and safe workplaces. They don't need this attack on their rights and entitlements. They don't need to see the value of their take-home pay further eroded. They don't need to see living standards continue to decline. And they certainly don't need this bill. Labor will oppose this bill. We will not support this blatant effort to undermine the jobs, rights, wages and living standards of Australian workers. I ask the Senate to reject this bill in full.