Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Ayres has raised a number of issues which I'd like to respond to. I want to start by going back to an issue which was discussed, if I recall correctly, in question time yesterday around the underpayment of wages—wage theft—which is a matter the senator raised. I reiterate that the government has absolutely no tolerance for any exploitation of workers, and that includes the underpayment of wages and entitlements by any employer. We have taken what amounts to unprecedented action to date to protect vulnerable workers. We've funded, in additional resources and more powers for the Fair Work Ombudsman, over $60 million and we have increased penalties against law-breaking employers up to 10-fold.

What it has meant for the Fair Work Ombudsman, in a very practical sense, is that they recovered 60 per cent more money for workers in 2018-19 compared to the amount recovered in the Labor Party's last year in office, which was 2012-13. The Fair Work Ombudsman have also secured more than double the number of court ordered penalties against employers. That effort of the Fair Work Ombudsman is securing outcomes. We also see that with the higher penalties we've introduced and the first decision taking into account our new protecting vulnerable workers legislation was handed down by the court in late August, awarding penalties of more than $125,000 against operators of two sushi outlets, I believe, in Queensland. They are important steps.

The Fair Work Ombudsman's firmer stance is also starting to deliver results. The latest data confirms that we have seen double the number of litigations filed, a 60 per cent increase in the amount of money recovered for workers by the FWO this calendar year to date, compared with the last, and almost 20 per cent more employees benefiting from FWO recovery action. Those steps are important. It is very important to send that message to employers who seek to underpay, mistreat or exploit their workers in that way.

There are a number of other initiatives, which, as I've said in the chamber before, we are also pursuing. We're drafting legislation for the first time to introduce criminal penalties for the worst forms of worker exploitation. That was one of the key recommendations of the Migrant Workers Taskforce. We have released a discussion paper which focuses on identifying further improvements to the protection of employees' wages and entitlements. That covers stronger civil penalties, greater deterrence for sham contracting, and closely examining the suitability of employers' liability where entities in their supply network are flouting employment laws. We've heard some pretty high-profile examples of underpayments in recent years. Whether it's Woolworths, the ABC, the MAdE Establishment group of companies or Maurice Blackburn, which was invoked by Senator Pratt earlier, that is a reminder to all employers to conduct ongoing checks of workplace compliance and ensure that they are paying their employees what they are entitled to and what they are owed.

Senator Ayres also raised questions about the fit and proper criteria—the ground in the bill. This is a ground which was recommended by Commissioner Heydon. The criteria the court must consider when deciding if a person is fit and proper to hold office in an organisation are directly relevant to whether a person is suitable to be in such a position of trust and responsibility, and I would note that there is already a fit and proper person test in the Fair Work Act for a person to be granted a right of entry permit. I do think that we should all be able to agree that a person who has been found to be dishonest, violent or unfit to exercise rights of entry to workplaces is probably not a person who should be in charge of a registered organisation or trusted to act in the best interests of its members.

In relation to the equivalent in the corporations sphere and the corporations legislation, there are certain fitness and propriety tests that apply. A number of the states and territories have requirements under their labour hire schemes. In Queensland and in Victoria, for example, if you want to perform the functions of an auditor under the Corporations Act, you must be a fit and proper person. To gain an Australian Financial Services licence from ASIC a person must not be unfit, and, in determining this, ASIC must take into account the person's fame, character and integrity. For an entity that seeks admission on the Australian Stock Exchange, each director and proposed director must be of good fame and character, and that is a provision which exists there.

In this bill, the fit and proper person ground for disqualification lists several matters related to workplace laws, with some additional considerations—particularly around fraud and dishonesty, and particularly around the use of violence. That is very similar, as I said, to the fit and proper person test already found in the Fair Work Act when determining whether someone should be granted a right of entry permit. I would also reiterate that it is a matter which is still left to the court to adjudicate on.

Senator Ayres also raised some examples around whether the bill would have applied to, for example, those exercising or participating in union action in the 1970s in Sydney in relation to green bans. To be very clear: the bill doesn't prevent unions from organising or employees from attending social issue campaigns during hours they're not rostered to work. Attending these sorts of events outside of employees' working hours is not industrial action.

In addition, the bill doesn't apply to lawful protected industrial action. It means that unions that organise and employees that participate in protected work stoppages and then attend rallies during the work stoppages are not impacted by the bill. And, even in the case of unlawful industrial action, the action must be obstructive, with a number of qualifiers attached to that as well, for it to be a ground for deregistration under the bill, and that was an issue that I discussed at some length earlier this morning with Senator Sheldon and Senator Farrell.

This requires that the action must have 'prevented, hindered or interfered with' the activities of an employer, or any relevant public service, or had a substantial adverse effect on the safety, health or welfare of the community. That is a significant threshold, and unlawful industrial action without these features doesn't and won't give rise to a ground for deregistration under the bill. I also wanted to reinforce and reiterate that this obstructive industrial action ground is an existing ground for deregistration under the current registered organisations act, an act that was legislated by those opposite in 2009. So, to the extent that Senator Ayres and others may have an issue or a concern with this ground, then they do, apparently, have an issue that they've not raised previously with their own legislation that has sat on the books for over a decade.

So, in terms of the issues that Senator Ayres has raised, and addressing those, as to 'fit and proper person' and the issue of wage theft and whether, to use one of his examples, in the green bans context, the bill would have applied, they are issues which the government would respond with.