Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, the Labor Party co-sponsored this amendment with the Greens, and we are pleased to work constructively with them. During the Senate estimates process, Treasury said that the design of the scheme, particularly the dual requirements on total headcount and total payroll increasing, plus time costs and other behavioural factors, meant that businesses were unlikely to fire existing staff or reduce their hours. However, we note, particularly with large companies, there could still be plenty of scope for and a capacity to incentivise the displacement of staff, including by reducing their hours, and to motivate unfair dismissals.

Reading this amendment in conjunction with the amendment on sheet 1086, it's very important that the rules of the scheme make entities that terminate employment or reduce ordinary hours for existing workers ineligible for the scheme. In addition, I think it's worth speaking to the amendment on sheet 1086, which we are also co-sponsoring with the Greens. Again, in the context of the very real problem of incentivising unfair dismissals, the displacement of existing workers and the reduction of hours, it's critical that the Fair Work Commission has the ability to resolve disputes, which we think will inevitably arise. The Fair Work Commission is the best place for these disputes to be heard and resolved, because the disputes intersect with the idea that the scheme has been misused, which the ATO needs to have oversight of, with the motivation for an employer to unfairly dismiss someone or improperly reduce the hours of a casual worker. We want the rules to provide for arbitration as a means to resolve disputes, and this amendment ensures that.

Every senator here, including those in the government, says they want to ensure that existing workers are not displaced. So it's important that there is scrutiny by the Fair Work Commission on jobs and hours, and the dispute resolution process, and indeed that, as covered by the amendment on sheet 1066, there are very real safeguards to ensure that businesses uphold their obligations under this legislation.