Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think it was the member for Dickson.

From the local chambers through to the BCA and the AIG, the old adage 'stronger together' really does ring true. A government needs to meet and talk with peak bodies. This should apply regardless of whether the peak body is representing employers, industry organisations, community groups or workers. For example, yesterday I met with delegates and frontline workers from the Australian Services Union. I came out of that meeting better informed—better informed by John and Wayne of the fact that over the last nine years the NDIS has been turned into something else by the previous government and not something better; better-informed by Wendy, Julie and Jodie of the difficulty of retaining people in caring professions, where there is job insecurity, low wages and poor conditions.

On 23 August, in the lead-up to the government's very successful Jobs and Skills Summit, I hosted a green energy jobs and skills roundtable in Perth. Around the table were representatives of business, large and small, unions, governments and training organisations. If the union representatives had been missing, it would have been a poorer roundtable for it.

In the earlier debate in the House today we heard from members of all persuasions just how important workers are in aged care. More recently, my friends the member for Bean and the member for Bendigo quite properly emphasised the importance of unions working in the fields of aged care and health care. I encourage all workers to go and join their union. I encourage union members and anyone else to come and join the Labor Party because it represents the working people. (Time expired)

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