05/09/2023 

Ms CLAYDON (Newcastle-Deputy Speaker) (16:49): As a member of the Albanese Labor government, I could not be more proud than to stand in this chamber tonight to speak on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023, which was introduced by my colleague the Leader of the House and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. This legislation is incredibly important. If you were interested in creating fair and just workplaces in Australia, then you would be supporting this bill. Australia needs an industrial relations system that is there to support all of its workers, not just some. This set of workplace reforms before us tonight is about four really key platforms. One is an explicit effort to criminalise wage theft. Seriously, if you think wage theft is okay, then you need to stand up and explain to the Australian people why you would vote against this legislation. If you think that cracking down on the labour hire loophole that's used to deliberately undercut pay and conditions in this nation is not okay, then you need to stand up and explain to the Australian people. If you think that properly defining 'casual work' so that casuals aren't being exploited is not a fine endeavour or something that you'd want to aspire to, again, you need to explain why the hell not. And, certainly, if you cannot see your way to making sure that gig workers are not being ripped off in this country, you have got a lot of explaining to do to the Australian people.

At the moment, certain Australian workers are missing out because of loopholes that allow pay and conditions to be undercut. For these workers, the minimum standards in awards and enterprise agreements are just words on a paper with little, if any, relevance to their daily lives. If we want workers to be paid properly, we need to close these loopholes. As the Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary, Sally McManus, said:

This is a great day for Aussie workers.

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The laws that the government is bringing forward will give Australian workers greater job security, and it will stop employers stealing wages.

Seriously, I think it is indefensible for those opposite to oppose this legislation. If a worker steals from the till, it's a criminal offence. But, in many parts of Australia, if an employer steals from a worker's pay packet, it is not. I'm telling you, people in my electorate of Newcastle do not think that is a fair or just outcome. Many people in my electorate of Newcastle know just too well what this kind of wage theft looks like when it comes to unpaid superannuation. Too often I get calls from Novocastrians at their wits' end after being shortchanged thousands of dollars that are rightfully theirs. Recent figures show that one-third of Hunter-Newcastle workers were owed superannuation payments totalling 8 a trip, because they were being rushed to complete orders and they had their pay cut during the pandemic. We know there's a direct link between low rates of pay and people's safety at work. It leads to a situation where workers take risks so they can get more work done because they're struggling to make ends meet. This situation cannot continue. This legislation is about protecting workers, particularly those that don't meet the definition of an employee, as is the case for many gig workers, but are not genuine small businesses either. It's a sham to think that all these people are small businesses in their own right.

This is a great bill for casual workers, providing some help for 850,000 casual workers who have regular work arrangements and giving them greater access to leave entitlements and more financial security if desired. There are terrific measures in here to ensure the trucking industry is safe, sustainable and viable, reinstating a lot of work that the former government undid in this nation. As Sally McManus says, 'This is a great day for Aussie workers.'