Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to highlight to the chamber, and to anyone listening, that this week the SDA and the TWU are calling out the disgraceful behaviour of Amazon worldwide in this nation and around this country. The owner of Amazon is worth no less than $117 billion—and good luck to him! I wish I had $117 billion, because I wouldn't be sitting in here whingeing about him and Amazon!

I have no problem with people earning money, but I have a serious problem when they make huge amounts of money off their workforce. It is a well-known factor around the world and in this nation that Amazon workers are too frightened to bargain collectively—to come together—through the threats of being dismissed. It is a well-known fact in this nation that, while some people applaud Amazon, it is stealing food off the table of workers from other retail companies, such as Woolworths and Coles, who do pay the right money to their people, who do pay the superannuation, who do make good paying jobs full-time and who do supply all the good stuff that goes around that in holiday pay, maternity pay, sick leave, rostered days off and overtime. So how the heck can we put our hands on our hearts and look up to Amazon?

The TWU and the SDA have had an online retail campaign on this going for years. They work with other unions around Australia, and I would just urge every Australian consumer about this: we all want the same thing—we all want what's best for our children. There's not one person I've ever met who doesn't wake up in the morning saying that they want to deliver for their children. If you want to deliver for your children—and I'm not preaching to you—then we know they have to have a good education and good paying jobs. But not every Australian kid wants to go to university—not that they can't. I know I didn't want to; I couldn't think of anything worse! I wanted to get out and start working, and I wanted to be rewarded for the effort I put in.

I commend the TWU and the SDA, for keeping the campaign going against the greed of Amazon in Australia and worldwide.