Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

'Hear, hear,' the member for Lalor says, and she is quite right to do so. They are taking clear action, as has the Palaszczuk government in Queensland. We have seen renewed advocacy in the union movement on these issues, and I highlight in particular the advocacy of unions like the National Union of Workers through their campaign 'Jobs you can count on'. But what has been missing in this of course is a national response, and that is extraordinarily disappointing and a betrayal of hundreds of thousands of Australian workers and their families.

This is not an issue, although it is gathering force. Five years ago, Brian Howe, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, undertook a report for the Australian Council of Trade Unions. This report was entitled Lives on hold. This title captured the challenge of relying on labour hire for work. For too many Australians it captured the real meaning of insecure work and all of its consequences. There are consequences economically but also across the whole of people's lives.

Since then things have not got better; they have got much worse. We on this side of House recognise that inequality in Australia is at a post-Depression high, and changes in the world of work are exacerbating this trend to inequality. The share of the Australian economy going to wages is at a record low, and insecure forms of work—especially engagement through labour hire agencies—are becoming more prevalent. In too many cases, they are the new normal.

The Victorian government's inquiry, which this motion relates to, has uncovered some disturbing but important evidence about what is happening in labour hire in Victoria and has formulated the basis of a sound response. In the very short time available to me, I want to make a couple of points about the inquiry, firstly about its process. The inquiry opened up a critical conversation in Victoria, not just in Melbourne but around regional Victoria as well, enabling stories to be told. We have heard important stories of exploitative practices—for example targeting visa holders—and unlawful practices, particularly in areas of occupational health and safety. The inquiry has enabled the Victorian parliament to consider the scope of the impact of insecure work, and particularly the labour hire industry, on the lives of Victorians.

The key findings of the inquiry are important. I am pleased that they have been, in very large part, accepted by the Victorian government and, in very similar terms, adopted by the Palaszczuk government in Queensland—setting up a licensing scheme and developing a code of conduct to regulate labour hire operators and to make it unlawful for employers in regulated industries to use unlicensed firms in labour hire. The inquiry advocates a national licensing scheme for labour hire operators, increasing occupational health and safety requirements, improving regulation of accommodation standards, and amending the Equal Opportunity Act in Victoria to ensure it applies to labour hire employees to prevent discrimination, regulate operators and remove unscrupulous conduct.

What is missing in this national crisis is a national response. Many of the issues here obviously relate to the legislative competence of this parliament, not state and territory parliaments. This motion commends the work of the Andrews government—and I also acknowledge the Palaszczuk government. We should also acknowledge the work of the union movement in drawing attention to these practices, as well as the work of the member for Gorton and of the Leader of the Opposition in this place. What is missing is the Turnbull government and a national response to a national crisis.

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