Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I do agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that this is an important national reform. That is why it would be extraordinarily stupid for the government to place that reform in jeopardy by insisting that they are right when everybody else is telling them that they are wrong. In the Senate every Green and Independent senator joined with us in saying to the government that this legislation was fundamentally flawed.

These amendments were supported by ACCI and the ACTU, an organisation not necessarily considered to be a pawn of the Liberal Party. They joined with us in saying that these amendments were sensible and they improved on the legislation that the government has introduced into this House. It takes an incredible kind of arrogance just to turn around and say, ‘No, we’re not remotely interested in looking at these amendments; we’re going to insist on having our way.’ I have news for the government and I have news for the Deputy Prime Minister: parliament is more than just the executive and the government. Yes, government is formed in the lower House here, but we have a bicameral system and the idea that the Senate should not have any say on the way legislation is formed in Australia is unbelievably arrogant and also flawed.

The Deputy Prime Minister insists on talking about the intergovernmental agreement. The reality is that the new state government of Western Australia does not have a problem with most of the amendments as moved by the Senate. Indeed the Deputy Prime Minister herself through her own legislation has not even facilitated all of the intergovernmental agreement as agreed. For instance, she has failed to include within that legislation something agreed within the intergovernmental agreement, which was that the legislation provide for the new body to supply an annual report on its progress to the parliament. That has not been included within the government’s legislation but was insisted on within the intergovernmental agreement.

What is so terrible about these amendments? They are actually relatively simple amendments; they improve on what the government have done. If the government insist on having their own way then they are the ones who will put this national OH&S system in jeopardy. The amendments do relatively simple things. For instance, they outline the objectives of the new body—hardly terribly controversial. They restore effective levels of representation to the employer and the employer representative bodies and they name who those bodies are. Most members of this House would agree that ACCI and the ACTU are the appropriate bodies to represent both the employer and employee groups in Australia. They also free these partners from unnecessary ministerial interference. If the chief executive of Safe Work Australia is going to fulfil their role then they should be able to do so without the threat of unnecessary ministerial interference. Freeing the CEO of Safe Work Australia from this interference is particularly important. They hardly have the freedom to do the job properly if they have the minister breathing down their neck with the threat of sacking them if they do not do what the federal government wants.

Finally, the amendments establish an audit committee to examine the finances and the expenditure of Safe Work Australia. These are hardly controversial things, in my view. They are relatively simple amendments that improve the government’s legislation. They are amendments that every other senator except Labor Party senators can agree on as being sensible. It is quite an unlikely alliance when you team the Liberal Party with the Greens and the Independent senators.

Yet the government is far too arrogant, even in the face of this combined opposition, to consider these amendments. I know that this went to the ministerial council last Wednesday in Melbourne and the reality is that there was very little discussion. I understand the discussion lasted for some 10 minutes and the view was expressed that the partners should insist on the intergovernmental agreement. We believe that this is the wrong strategy. We believe that the Senate has a right to amend government legislation. I would genuinely urge the government to consider their approach or they will be the ones that place in jeopardy this important national reform.

Question agreed to.

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