Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to address this matter of public importance. I think it is important in all things to put the changes that we are proposing to this parliament into a framework, because you need to know why you're doing something before you do it. In my first speech to this place I reflected upon the words of Theodore Roosevelt after the coal strike of 1902, who said:

Now I believe in rich people who act squarely, and in labor unions which are managed with wisdom and justice; but when either employee or employer, labouring man or capitalist, goes wrong, I have to clinch him, and that is all there is to it.

That is exactly our agenda here. We're not coming into this place to try and pursue an agenda to try and aid any organisation, whether it be a corporation or a union. We know who we represent here; we represent the people. In my case, I represent the people of New South Wales. There is no question that industrial relations is an area where there's been far too much ideology and not enough problem-solving. There are people who come into this place who are not sure who they represent. They're not sure whether they represent the people or whether they represent a union or, in some cases, whether they represent a super fund. This is a very important point of clarity for us. Why would we pursue these changes to the labour laws?

The answer is that we believe there is a need to create more investment and, ultimately, job opportunities for the Australian people, who we all represent in this place. I'll step through a few of these changes that the Attorney-General is proposing.

The first is nailing down a definition of 'casual worker'. After the Rossato case, this has been an area of great conjecture. People would be aware that Australian companies are now sitting on liabilities of about $40 billion after that court case, because it's backdated, effectively. So this legislation is designed to put in place a situation where, after 12 months of reasonably consistent casual employment, a worker can convert to a permanent part-time role. That is an option for that person under this legislation.

If we don't legislate this, all those liabilities are going to sit there on the books—in some cases accounted for, in other cases not accounted for—of Australian businesses, and the class actions are already starting. That is an important piece of certainty for Australian workers and Australian businesses. Trying to have longer-term agreements, as the bill proposes, is a very worthwhile idea. We are competing for new investment for major projects. We always have been. This is a country that has competed for the best brains and foreign investment since the First Fleet, and that is the status today.

I have been reflecting upon the geopolitical changes in Hong Kong. I think a lot of the debate around China is quite unsophisticated. My view would be that Hong Kong will still be an important gateway to China but it will not be the same regional centre for finance and technology. Why would you put your executives in danger, of the international security law, as you would be in Hong Kong? I think there is a lot of money that will come out of Hong Kong that will create new jobs, and those jobs could be in Sydney, they could be in Singapore or they could be in Tokyo. I think it's incumbent upon this parliament to find ways to improve our competitive position so we can attract that marginal investment, that mobile capital, and we can have those additional workers in Australia.

We're also looking to improve the operation of the BOOT test so that there is a real worker test, a real scenario, not a hypothetical. This Fair Work Commission has created an art form of slowing down and jamming and gumming up the works and running the enterprise bargaining system into the ground, in this country, to the point where award reliance is higher than it was years ago. The whole point of enterprise bargaining is that workplaces can decide what's important for them, above and beyond the basic award rates. But with enterprise bargaining, basically, dead it is incumbent on this parliament to try and reboot that. All in all, we're committed to more investment and more jobs.