Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to make a contribution to the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021. I want to start by stating Labor's strong opposition to the government's management of this piece of legislation. This chamber functions on norms and principles, and the rules and processes of this chamber are there not for our advantage but to facilitate the business of the Australian people. That's not the approach taken by the government today. That's all been thrown out the window. This is a government that is willing to play games on a bill that is complicated and that might impact on the lives of ordinary Australians but is not being dealt with through the norms and principles that we ordinarily observe.

Before each sitting week, a document titled Draft Legislation Program for the Senate is circulated to senators and staff and outlines the week ahead. It allows the parliament to adequately prepare for debate on bills that will be before this chamber. This week, that document, the Draft Legislation Program for the Senate, was circulated very late—very late, indeed—on Monday morning. Was this bill on it? It was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the very first time that opposition senators heard that it would be coming on for debate today was last night.

This is a complicated bill. It is Labor's view that a bill of this kind ought to be referred to a Senate committee for examination—not a long examination, but enough time to get into the detail. That is what the Senate is here for. This is a house of review. It's a place where we inspect, interrogate and clarify aspects of legislation before we make them laws. I think everyone in this place would acknowledge that the collaborative nature of that process often means that real shortcomings are identified in that process and remedied before bills pass into law. Labor took this position, a very straightforward position, to the responsible assistant minister, the member for Tangney, Ben Morton, and he gave us his word that this bill would be referred to a Senate committee for inquiry. Imagine our surprise today when the bill is listed for debate, to be pushed straight through. Apparently, this minister's word means absolutely nothing. So we've been ambushed here today by the Morrison government, who've gone back on their commitment and tried to jam through a piece of legislation with no prior warning and against all of the norms and processes of this place.

What is all of this for? Those opposite apparently—and it is for them to explain this—consider the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 'an urgent matter'. Well, that will utterly confound all Australians. What does this government actually think is an urgent matter? Apparently not bushfire recovery—that's not urgent. The summer of 2019-20 was one of the worst bushfire seasons on record and yet those opposite, the Liberal government, have not spent a single cent of their Regional Recovery Partnerships fund to help communities rebuild after bushfires. Stopping cruise ships from entering Australia at the start of the pandemic may have been considered urgent. But, no, the Ruby Princess was allowed to arrive duly in Sydney because the federal government failed to do their job. The result was hundreds and hundreds of active COVID-19 cases spilling out into our community. It's not urgent, apparently, to bring stranded Australians home. There are 40,000 Australian citizens suffering around the world, many of them in India, because Scott Morrison has refused to implement a proper national quarantine program. And it's certainly not urgent to vaccinate Australia. Our vaccine rollout has been such a failure that we are left staring in envy at countries like Mongolia, El Salvador and Suriname, whose governments got right what our government has got so very, very wrong.

So what on earth is so urgent about this bill? It is so urgent that the government didn't know that it was a priority on Monday, or even yesterday morning or yesterday afternoon, but it is something that became very, very urgent last night. It is something that was so urgent that they would lie to the Labor Party, go back on their word and break the norms and processes of this place to ram it through. What is it that is so urgent? They won't tell us. They won't tell me, they won't tell Labor and they won't tell the Australian people. That is the problem with this government. It's all a game to them. They don't keep their promises, they don't follow the rules and they don't deliver.

Scott Morrison is not on your side. Scott Morrison is all about himself. He doesn't really care about you or your family. He's not interested in what you want or need. He's not on your side. He's only in it for himself, and the Morrison government have pulled a very shonky manoeuvre here. They didn't warn the chamber this bill would be brought on this week. They lied to Labor when they agreed that this bill would be referred to an appropriate Senate committee so it could be investigated. If they can't run the Senate, what hope is there that they can run the country? If the Morrison government can't tell the truth on a bill like this, how can you trust a single word—a single word—in their budget papers? If they can't tell you on Monday what they're doing on Wednesday, how can you have any confidence in their COVID vaccine rollout or their COVID recovery plan? The proof is in the pudding, because we have seen what they deliver over eight long years. The truth is you know you can't trust them, because eight long years of this tired, stale Liberal National government have shown that they have nothing to contribute. They are nowhere and they stand for nothing. They are big on tricks.

But you need to ask the question: why would they go to such lengths to lie and obscure what their agenda was this week? What is in this bill that requires hiding? What is in the fine print that they want to jam through the parliament before it can be discovered by senators on a legislation committee? What is in store for Australian workers? If it's Scott Morrison's idea, you know it can't be good. The Prime Minister has spent over a billion dollars on advertising. That is a billion dollars on self-promotion from an adman Prime Minister who would celebrate the opening of an envelope if he could. He loves a big photo-op. He loves a big announcement. So why is he so quiet on these details? Why are they being rushed through?

The reality is that this is a Prime Minister who is all about himself. He doesn't really care about you or your family or your livelihood. When things go well—and admittedly it is harder and harder to catch him on such a day—he is the very first to take credit, but when things go wrong, he doesn't take charge or responsibility. Bushfires? Straight to Hawaii. 'Don't hold a hose, mate.' COVID-19? Well, that's for the premiers to deal with. Vaccines? The EU's fault. If this bill is so wonderful, why is it being jammed through like this? What is in this bill that he doesn't want to advertise? If this were good news for the Australian people, we'd know about it. The management of this bill suggests otherwise. Scott Morrison is not interested in what you want or need. He's not on your side; he's only in it for himself. He would rather play games with the chamber than be upfront about whatever scheme is being cooked up here today.

Part of our frustration stems from the fact that Labor does not want to dismiss this bill out of hand. Labor supports the principle, of course, of allowing workers to move around the country in pursuit of work and having their qualifications recognised. We acknowledge that all states and territories have provided consent to the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill, including Victoria, which has stated that this provides significant reform, and we also acknowledge the concerns of unions, including the ACTU, who have flagged that this bill may have unintended consequences and cause issues for workers because of a lack of national standards. That is why we want to send the bill to inquiry. Labor seek to be cooperative on any measure that makes it easier for Australians to secure good jobs, including giving workers the opportunity to move around the country and maintain the ability to work in their chosen profession or trade, but we have to ensure that there are no unintended consequences that would negatively impact workers or the standard of work that they perform.

That's why we will be moving a second reading amendment in this place to refer the bill to the appropriate committee for inquiry, as we were promised by the Morrison government, and if they won't let us investigate the nuts and bolts of this bill then we will be forced to oppose it. I repeat again, in closing, our strongest condemnation of the actions of the Morrison government here today, and I ask the crossbench to carefully consider our amendment and to support it so the Senate can do its job. I move:

Omit all words after 'That", substitute "the Bill be referred to the Education and Employment Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 9 June 2021, with particular reference to concerns raised by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, and whether the legislation will:

a) act as a disincentive to states and territories harmonising rules and regulations relating to occupational registration and/or licensing of occupations where significant jurisdictional variation exists,

b) restrict existing licensing and registration authorities from adequately performing their functions, and

c) reduce consumer protections, public safety and the work health and safety of workers by replacing existing mutual recognition arrangements of occupations that require licensing and/or registration with the proposed automatic mutual recognition arrangements".

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 on behalf of the Greens. From the outset I'd like to indicate that the Greens will support the referral to the inquiry so that the extensive issues with the legislation can be given due consideration, as Senator McAllister just told us in very clear terms. Frankly, the government has an opportunity here to fix those extensive issues that have been highlighted by so many across the board before the Senate actually considers this legislation again, so, if the government has any sense, they would really consider referring the bill to the inquiry. I understand that that was an agreement that was already had and somehow the government has reneged. That's not a surprise to me at all.

I do want to go to the crux of the bill as well and just highlight again to the government why this needs to go to an inquiry and why there needs to be more scrutiny than just a few hours notice of this bill coming up. No-one in the sector actually knew that this bill was going to come up today either. As my colleague Adam Bandt reflected in his contribution to this bill in the other place:

It takes a particular kind of arrogance and incompetence to take a really good idea and turn it into something that's a potential threat to people's safety—

That's what this bill is at the moment, and that's why it needs to be taken off the table. It needs to be relooked at. We need to go back to the table, rewrite this bill and make it something that is useful and helpful to people, not a potential threat. But, of course, regrettably, here we are. This is where we find ourselves. It's so typical of the Morrison government that they would strike upon a principle everyone supports—being able to take your qualifications and work in other states—and find a way to make it a deregulating race to the bottom that creates more risks than it does rewards.

In voicing our opposition to this lazy, wrong-headed attempt at implementing mutual recognition and in my capacity as education spokesperson for the Greens, I want to particularly highlight the risks the legislation in its current form poses to teachers around the country. In their analysis of the bill that the government rushed through the House of Representatives in March and is now rushing through the Senate today, teachers and their union identified no fewer than seven critical issues with the automatic mutual recognition processes that the bill establishes.

First, it creates a burdensome duplicate mutual recognition process. The appeal of automatic recognition is that it is just that—automatic. But the system the government has set up means that mandatory vulnerable persons and public protection checks will have to apply to teachers before they can rely on mutual recognition, checks which are vital and form a part of the existing non-automatic mutual recognition arrangements. So what's being created here is, in the Australian Education Union's words, 'a parallel, costly, confusing and redundant regulatory burden on teachers and the education sector.'

Second, the automatic recognition process in this bill foists the burden of these checks onto the jurisdiction where a teacher is trying to work while forbidding them from raising fees related to that teacher's registration and not offering any new funding to support these checks. The practical consequence of this is state teaching regulators, instead of pursuing their important work of enforcing child safety and professional standards, will be obliged to divert resources into checks that they aren't funded to perform. Over time this will only erode the core work of these agencies.

Next, the AEU notes that where an automatic deregistration is cancelled or suspended for any reason, including innocuous reasons such as a teacher choosing to cancel their registration, the teacher regulator responsible for oversight of that ADR must notify all other state and territory regulators, including regulators unrelated to where a teacher teaches or intends to teach. What does this mean for teachers and their state and territory regulators? It means that, instead of a careful system that ensures vital information relevant to child protection and professional standards is shared between jurisdictions as appropriate, we will end up with regulators producing endless, copious reports that occupy resources and provide little signal amongst noise to the receiving regulators.

Fourth, because an automatic deemed registration under the proposed scheme won't appear on searchable teacher registration databases, the Liberals are creating a situation where individual principals and school administrators will have to manually investigate whether there are any conditions or red flags on a prospective hire's registration in another jurisdiction. This is not something that we should be expecting individual schools to do. Naturally, it gives rise to the risk of it not being done with due diligence, and it is, of course, something that a more carefully considered scheme could have dealt with.

Fifth, teachers are concerned that the powers granted to the federal, state and territory ministers to decide whether or not teachers are subject to the scheme will:

… inappropriately expand the role of Ministers in the governance of the education profession, bypassing the appropriate state and territory regulators, and politicising the regulatory function.

Sixth, this bill creates a race to the bottom in terms of professional standards between jurisdictions. We should have a national focus on lifting teaching standards and creating consistency between jurisdictions of registration requirements, like fees and professional development. Instead, this bill leaves open the possibility of a worker who hasn't cut the mustard in one state going shopping for a state with lower standards that will let them register, before moving straight back to the state that has higher standards. Once again, it's clear that the government hasn't appropriately thought through how this will work in practice.

Finally, teachers rightly identified this as a missed opportunity for positive reform. We should be on a unity ticket in this place calling for safe and efficient movement of teachers between states to address shortages and ensure we have the staff needed to support students and families wherever they may be. It is incredibly frustrating that, instead of a targeted scheme to achieve those goals that have been voiced time and again by teachers and state registration bodies, the government has brought us here today, and to this.

In light of these concerns raised by Australia's teachers, I will be moving an amendment in the Committee of the Whole to exclude them from the operation of the mutual recognition processes established by this bill. I hope the chamber will support this sensible step for teachers, if this bill actually does go ahead today. I hope it doesn't, and I hope it will be referred to an inquiry. I also hope that the government will take the opportunity to do the real work on improving existing mutual recognition arrangements before coming back here with suitable legislation. Unfortunately, it would be small comfort if the problems with this bill that I've identified today were applicable only to teachers and if excluding them would actually fix the bill. Regrettably, the same issues affect other professions that will be regulated by the bill, as the Greens raised in the other place and as the ACTU and its member unions have made abundantly clear throughout the legislative process so far. The Greens will oppose the bill, but I do hope that the government sees sense and refers this bill to an inquiry.

Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's great to be able to stand up and talk on the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021. It's quite interesting to hear what the Labor side have to say about it, Senator McAllister. It's about tradies and it's about workers. It's about being able to go across the borders and do work in times of national disaster or if they have to move across for other reasons, such as a housing boom in an area. It gives them that ability. I can't understand why they're not supporting the workers of this nation. Is it because the unions are pushing you and telling you they're not really happy with it? Is it going to affect their membership? Is it going to have an impact on the unions? Is that the real reason behind you putting up this objection? You say it's going to affect lives. My estimation of the bill is that it is going to assist people to move more freely across the borders to access work.

Another thing you haven't said is that this has been passed by the national cabinet—that is, the state governments and the federal government. Labor in Queensland and Labor in Victoria have supported this, and you're saying: 'We should know more than what they know. We need to send this to an inquiry. We need to know about the nuts and bolts of all of this.'

All I ever hear about in this place is getting rid of the red tape. This is about getting rid of the red tape, and you're putting up a barrier because you want to give your input. No, I tell the Labor Party, it's all about the unions. You want to appease your unions. You're not worried about the workers out there that need to get on and get the job done, instead of filling out forms. It's got nothing to do with their work ethic. They have the ability, they've passed their courses, they have qualified to be able to do the jobs. When we have national disasters in different states, they should have the ability to cross the borders. We are one nation, and they should be able to cross the borders and go and do their jobs. After the comments today, I just shake my head at Labor; I really do. It's all about appeasing your cohort, the unions, to ensure that you're trying to do their job for them.

It's not too often a bill comes before the Senate with bipartisan support from both Labor and the Liberal government. But, in this instance, the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 has managed to unite both sides of politics. National cabinet should be congratulated on finding some common ground on this bill. In my home state, we've seen a significant housing boom off the back of people fleeing COVID-prone states, not to mention the natural weather events that happen from time to time throughout Queensland and require considerable manpower to repair and rebuild. It's for this very reason One Nation has taken a favourable stance on supporting Australia's tradies, who up until this point have faced a level of difficulty or red tape, as most people would commonly refer to it, venturing across state borders to work on job sites.

I strongly believe this bill will also assist rural and regional communities that are struggling to attract tradespeople to complete jobs in those regions. Throughout the last 12 months, I've seen hailstorms rip through Central and South-East Queensland, which have resulted in tens of thousands of insurance claims for new roofs and various other repair works. The truth is there's so much work in these regions that we've required tradespeople, including plumbers, electricians and builders, to come across the border from other states to get families back in their homes so their lives can return to normal following these natural events.

I'm pleased to note that the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 does not seek to water down the state's laws and conditions. Tradespeople will be subject to disciplinary actions and compliance surrounding each of their trades, which will prevent rogue operators. The amendments will also block tradies from evading workplace health and safety, environmental protection and animal welfare conditions. The automatic mutual recognition of trade qualifications will benefit over 168,000 workers, which has the potential of increasing economic activity by up to $2.4 billion over the next 10 years.

I'm only disappointed this bill does not and cannot amend the Heavy Vehicle National Law, which would reduce the regulatory burden on truck operators. Australian truckies should know that I did raise this issue with the government in the hope this bill could rectify the majority of problems our transport industry faces. But, unfortunately, the bill will only apply to truck licences that transport explosives. We have a lot of work ahead of us in the transport space. But after speaking with Ben Morton, the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and others within government, they have assured me that they're happy to continue working with me and One Nation to reduce red tape in this area. So, you see, this is going to actually help 168,000 workers with the potential of increasing economic activity by $2.4 billion over the next 10 years.

Why would Labor oppose that? I will go back to what I asked, if Senator McAllister will tell me: how much input did the unions have to this to ensure that you had to send it to an inquiry? Surely, the facts speak for themselves. There's no need to send it to an inquiry. We just need to pass it, let common sense prevail and let the workers of Australia get on and do their jobs. It's fearmongering again from the Labor Party. That's all it is, and the theatrics of the whole lot of them, saying that this is going to have an impact on workers in Australia. No. it may have an impact on the unions, but not on the workers of Australia. So One Nation will gladly support this bill. Congratulations to the government, working with the national cabinet and premiers of the states, who know what is happening in their states.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank all senators for contributing to the debate in relation to the Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021. In particular, I acknowledge the speech and the comments made by Senator Pauline Hanson. As you said, Senator Hanson, this bill is the culmination of efforts by the national cabinet, the Council on Federal Financial Relations and officials from the Commonwealth, states and territories. You are indeed correct that the bill is a culmination of that. As you know, Senator Hanson, in December 2020, the Prime Minister, state premiers and the Northern Territory Chief Minister signed an intergovernmental agreement to implement a uniform scheme for mutual recognition from 1 July 2021. That is this year, of course. Automatic mutual recognition or AMR, as it has been referred to, will deliver an estimated $2.4 billion in economic activity over the next 10 years. The Mutual Recognition Amendment Bill 2021 will save licensed workers time and money when they want to work in other states.

It is important to address some of the comments that have been made by Senator McAllister on behalf of the opposition and Senator Faruqi on behalf of the Australian Greens. It is important that we pass the bill today for the scheme to commence on 1 July, as agreed by the national cabinet, state premiers and the Northern Territory Chief Minister. We need to do this to cut red tape, to keep the economy moving and, of course, to provide job opportunities for the 168,000 workers who will benefit from automatic mutual recognition each year. Australians living in a cross-border region will benefit every day, and communities will be better supported to respond and rebuild following natural disasters. I foreshadow that the government will move minor and technical amendments to the bill to ensure that the scheme will be implemented as intended.

Again, to address the comments made by Senator McAllister and Senator Faruqi, the government does not agree that a Senate inquiry is necessary. That is because the bill that we have presented to the Australian Senate already reflects extensive public consultation. The Commonwealth, state and territory governments have worked collaboratively—and I commend the assistant minister Ben Morton on this—to develop and deliver this important reform from 1 July this year. These governments have committed to working together on implementation, with the Morrison government announcing $11 million over three years in the 2021-22 budget to support the implementation of these important reforms. Industry groups, unions and regulators have all expressed broad support for the intent and the framework of automatic mutual recognition. Their feedback has improved the bill to strengthen oversight by regulators and to protect workers and the public. Automatic mutual recognition will make it simpler, quicker and less expensive for business and registered workers to operate across Australia. It will help to better use the skills of the Australian labour force.

I just reconfirm for the Senate that, as Senator Hanson said, this bill is the culmination of efforts by the national cabinet, which is literally state parliaments, not all of the same political persuasion; the Council on Federal Financial Relations; and officials from the Commonwealth, states and territories. As a result of the work that has been done between those bodies, the Prime Minister, state premiers of both political persuasions and the Northern Territory Chief Minister signed an intergovernmental agreement to implement a uniform scheme for automatic mutual recognition from 1 July 2021. With those comments, I commend the bill to the Senate.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the second reading amendment moved by Senator McAllister be agreed to.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the bill be read a second time.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senators, before I move to the committee stage, I've just received a request from a senator—in this case, a minister—to bring someone into the adviser's box who relies upon a service animal. I understand this has not happened before, but, with the concurrence of the Senate, I plan to allow that.

Honourable senators: Hear, hear!