Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Hansard source

I will name them. If you want me to name them, I will name them when you name all those workers who have to pay Craig Thomson's bills. I will name them then. In the letter she says she is aware that the final form of the legislation deems all outworkers to be employees, 'including the National Employment Standards, superannuation and unfair dismissal laws'. She says:

As a start-up business, in the beginning it will be challenging to pay myself, never mind employ a 'maker/outworker' on a regular basis, and pay all these entitlements. Again this is unworkable and in trading in such an environment, I face prosecution in breach of the TCFAI Modern Award 2010. The risks are too great.

She continues:

I would like you and your government to consider this letter and make the necessary changes to allow me and other graduating & emerging Australian Fashion Designers making samples and small orders (with business turning over less than $100,000 per year) to apply for exemption to this onerous and impractical regime, as part of the Modern Awards Review 2012.

This is the problem. It all sounds great in theory to add additional protections, drag all these people in, get rid of the independent contractor label and make them all employees, but in doing so you will destroy the industry. You will destroy opportunities for these people to make their own way and to create their own opportunities in our economy. These people—the entrepreneurs and the small business people, people who are wanting to employ other Australians—should be encouraged to make the best of their opportunities. But the Labor Party will not hear of it, because that runs against how they want society to be, which is that you are all employees, you are all members of the union, even though people are walking away from it. Why wouldn't they walk away when they see the behaviour of senior union officials in this country, when they see the utter and absolute abuse of their money by senior leaders in this country? This bill should be opposed—

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