Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Tangney for his excellent contribution to the debate. Indeed, I thank all honourable members for their contribution to this debate on the Fair Work Amendment (Corrupting Benefits) Bill 2017.

This bill will help to restore integrity to Australian workplaces. It will end the secrecy that has marked dealings between employers and unions for decades. It will ensure the corrupt payments between a business, employee, union or union official are banned, with significant criminal penalties for anyone who flouts the law. Penalties will apply equally to employers and unions who are both implicated by a secret payment.

The Heydon royal commission uncovered more than 20 separate examples of payments secretly changing hands between employers and unions. One of the worst offenders, as revealed by the royal commission, was the Leader of the Opposition's own union, the Australian Workers Union in Victoria. The royal commission revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars of payments flying from companies to the union, including Thiess John Holland, ACI Operations, Winslow Constructors, Chiquita Mushrooms and, of course, Cleanevent. In return, companies had the assurance that the AWU would not agitate for better conditions or better pay for workers—the very workers they are supposed to represent. Commissioner Heydon also observed that these practices were not new but had been carrying on for the past 30 years.

He also found that what he uncovered was just the small tip of an enormous iceberg. The royal commission found that not even existing laws on bribery, extortion, blackmail and secret commissions were enough to outlaw these arrangements. Those laws are not easily applied to payments involving unions and their officials. Even in cases where they can be applied, they have failed to deter the regular practice of such payments being made. Commissioner Heydon recommended that new provisions be introduced into the Fair Work Act to criminalise such payments. That is exactly what this bill does. This bill brings an end to the secretive, corruptive practice that has marked dealings between employers and unions for decades. The bill will rightly ensure that the true beneficiaries of workplace deals are the workers.

I turn now to some of the matters raised in the debate. There has been some discussion about whether this bill will apply equally to employers and to unions. I can assure all members that this bill has been carefully drafted to capture both sides of a corrupting benefits transaction. As the final report of the royal commission stated, corrupt receipt implies corrupt payment. An employer who offers or provides a secret financial benefit to a union is as heavily implicated as a union who solicits or accepts such payment. The penalties for both parties are the same and both parties can be held equally liable for the one transaction.

Similarly, each of the employers, unions and any employer association will have to disclose to employees most financial benefits they stand to gain under an enterprise agreement before employees vote on the agreement. Whether benefits are flowing to employers or to unions, workers deserve to know what they are being asked to approve in a deal that sets their wages and conditions.

There has also been some discussion about whether this bill is fair for workers. This bill has been designed for workers. They are the ones being kept in the dark over these deals, and they are the ones who stand to lose because of them. By banning corrupting and illegitimate payments and requiring disclosure of benefits arising from enterprise agreements, workers will be protected from secret deals that conflict with their interests. They will also be told what deals have been negotiated into enterprise agreements they are asked to support.

For example: in the case of Clean Event and a deal done by the AWU in Victoria, the royal commission found that in exchange for payments of $25,000 per year, the Victorian branch of the AWU in substance agreed not to seek better terms and conditions for three years for those of its members employed by Clean Event. For the workers employed by Clean Event the outcome was appalling. All involved benefited from the deal except for the people who the union was supposed to be representing. That is what the royal commission found. This is not why unions exist. Our bill will help to ensure that workers receive the benefit of honest employers and honest union officials who represent their interests.

There has also been some discussion about consultation on the bill. I would simply refer to the two-year-long royal commission, which had 189 hearing days, heard from 505 witnesses, conducted public hearings all over the country and received and reviewed thousands of documents. This royal commission recommended the changes in this bill, which the government is adopting.

I would like to thank the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee for their inquiry into this bill, and all those individuals and organisations who contributed by preparing written submissions and giving evidence at the public hearings. The government is considering the committee's report. I commend the bill to the House.

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