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

I move:

That this House:

(1) condemns the shocking findings uncovered by the Victorian Inquiry into the Labour Hire Industry and Insecure Work, including revelations of widespread underpayment, workplace health and safety breaches, maltreatment of workers, and tax avoidance in Victoria;

(2) welcomes the 35 recommendations made by the inquiry in its final report (August 2016);

(3) commends the Victorian Government for:

(a) establishing the inquiry; and

(b) committing to a labour hire licensing scheme in response to the inquiry's final report; and

(4) calls on the Australian Government to:

(a) investigate the operation of the labour hire industry Australia-wide; and

(b) commit to developing a national response to widespread exploitation in the industry based on findings.

I am pleased to be able to speak to this motion and, in doing so, to highlight a profound challenge facing Australia and in particular facing decision-makers in this place, our parliament, the seat of our national government. That is insecure work and its consequences, with particular reference to the labour hire industry, a growing sector in terms of employment in Australia and unfortunately also a dramatically growing sector in terms of exploitation and a range of unlawful activities. This challenge is recognised on this side of the parliament, in the union movement and by a number of state governments, in particular the Andrews government in my state of Victoria.

This motion was placed on the Notice Paper back in November and, since then, there has been some significant movement in Victoria and in other places in relation to these challenges of responding to insecure work and to these practices in the labour hire industry. The Andrews government in Victoria, since this motion was laid before the House, has moved to adopt the vast majority of the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into labour hire and insecure work.

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