Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Hansard source

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Small Business Redundancy Exemption) Bill 2023 closes a loophole currently in that law that a small business doesn't have to pay redundancy to workers when that business has to downsize due to insolvency. The small business redundancy exemption has been part of the workplace relations laws under the Fair Work Act since 2009. The thinking was that small businesses could hire workers without worrying about possible future redundancy payments. To qualify for the exemption, small businesses had to have fewer than 15 staff.

The problem, or the loophole, comes when a larger business becomes a smaller one, usually because they are going out of business, and ends up with fewer than 15 employees. According to this particular loophole, these large businesses are now small businesses and they don't have to pay their remaining staff a redundancy. That means that these workers who are helping to wind up the businesses do not get the redundancy they would normally be entitled to. These workers are often the people that have had to stay on helping to wind up the business, long after their mates have gone. This is a loophole that needs to be closed.

Imagine you're a worker in a large business and you've been there for years. Then imagine you're told that you're to be one of the last workers but you will not be getting a redundancy payment because the large business is now technically a small business. Workers shouldn't lose their rights to a redundancy payment just because they stay on to help these large businesses close down and finish up. This bill fixes that because it provides an exemption to the exemption. Basically, it makes sure that big businesses can't get away with not paying redundancies to the last of their workers just because they are going out of business. It is a loophole that needs to be closed, and it needs to be closed now due to economic circumstances that are going on outside this parliament. According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, we are dealing with a spike in corporate insolvency—in other words, large businesses are going out of business. Official data shows that in August this year 918 companies went into external administration for the first time or had a controller appointed. This was up 32 per cent on last year and up 12 per cent on the previous month.

We know the construction industry is falling on hard times. We have labour shortage issues and supply chain problems that are all working together to create a perfect storm and are creating a wave of insolvencies across the sector. Everyday Australians are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, high interest rates and wages that aren't keeping up with inflation. They're tightening their belts, and that's hitting retail and larger businesses across the board. This amendment is just common sense, and it's an amendment that shouldn't have to wait until next July. It is not controversial and it is not complicated. It simply protects the redundancy entitlements of those workers who are the last ones out the door.

I want to talk about silicosis. The Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency was set up in 2013 to administer the national strategic plan. ASEA oversees national actions to improve asbestos awareness and the effective and safe management, removal and disposal of asbestos. The first recorded Australian case of asbestosis was in 1933 and the insistency of the disease is still rising, even though most of those diagnosed today were exposed to heavy doses of asbestos 50 years ago. It took nearly 100 years for this country to create a national agency to deal with asbestos. We can't wait a minute longer to deal with silica.

Silica is found in things like stone benchtops, concrete, bricks and mortar. When these materials are cut, crushed, drilled, polished, sawn or ground, they release tiny dust particles. Silica dust is 100 times smaller than a grain of sand—so tiny that you can't even see it. But if you are exposed to it you can get lung cancer, kidney disease or silicosis. It's estimated that nearly half a million young tradies are exposed to silica dust, with thousands already diagnosed with silicosis. Like asbestosis, there is no cure for silicosis. Safe Work Australia has cut the silica dust exposure limit from 0.1 milligrams per cubic metre over an eight-hour shift to 0.05 milligrams, but this limit won't come in for three years and it has to be signed off by state and territory governments.

Silica reform is complicated and unfortunately sits across multiple portfolios and jurisdictions. Including silica in the government agency ASEA will help to fix this problem. This bill gives workers a right to safe and healthy workplaces by including silica in the government agency that deals with asbestos. It is common sense. This also includes eliminating and minimising exposure to dangerous silica dust. It raises awareness and it improves research. It means for the first time we can gather national data. The bill also expands the agency's functions to include a focus on silica safety and coordination, awareness raising, reporting and providing advice to the government on silica safety and silica related diseases. It also promotes and helps current efforts to manage the risk of silica and silica related disease in the workplace.

Like I said, it's estimated that up to half a million tradies have been exposed to silica dust, and at least 100,000 of those could die of silicosis. We don't know the exact number of deaths from this deadly silica dust, because we haven't been tracking and recording national data, but a study from 2012 estimated that it has already contributed to over 10,000 deaths a year. Many of the workers who get silicosis are young people. They are our sons and our daughters. Something needs to be done, and we cannot wait any longer.