Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave) Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. I do so not just as the member for Hunter but as someone who spent years working as a coalminer. I know what it's like to put the boots on in the dark, to work long shifts, to miss birthdays, to miss weekends and to come home covered in coal dust, knowing you've earnt every dollar the hard way. Mining is not an abstract policy issue for me. It is my community, it is my family and it is my mates. This bill matters because it goes to something fundamental: fairness, certainty and respect for people who built this industry and continue to power this country and the world.

Long service leave in the coal industry is not a bonus or a perk. It is a hard-earned entitlement that recognises the physical and mental toll of years working in the mining industry. The portable long service leave scheme exists because miners move between sites, contractors and employers across long careers. Without portability, too many workers would miss out entirely. This scheme was built to stop that from happening. But, for too long, gaps and disputes in the system have meant that some workers could not access what they were owed, through no fault of their own. This bill fixes that. At the heart of this legislation is connecting coal workers to their lawful long-service leave entitlements as quickly and as fairly as possible. That is the purpose, that is the priority, and that is why Labor is acting.

The bill addresses two longstanding legacy issues in the coalmining industry long service leave scheme. First, it deals with the historical levy liabilities that arose because of years of legal disputes about coverage. Those disputes left some employers outside of the scheme and workers unable to access or accrue their entitlements. Second, it fixes a broken penalty mechanism by updating an outdated levy rate that no longer functions as an effective compliance tool.

These are technical issues, but the consequences for workers are very, very real. Recent court decisions, including the Hitachi and Orica cases, have now clarified coverage under the scheme. That clarity is very welcome, but it also means that some employers suddenly face large historical levy debts and some workers still sit in limbo waiting for their service records to be recognised. This bill responds to that reality. It does not pretend the past did not happen. It deals with that honestly, practically and in ways that puts workers first.

The legislation establishes a time limited voluntary payment arrangement that allows employers to pay outstanding levies in a structured and manageable way. Employers who opt in can repay approximately 80 per cent of their unpaid levy, with the remaining portion waived if they comply with the arrangement. Let me be very clear about this point, though, because it will be misrepresented, I'm sure. This is not a giveaway to employers, and it does not reduce a single worker's entitlement. Every worker remains entitled to 100 per cent of their long-service leave. The waiver does not come out of workers' pockets. It is funded by the coalmining industry long service leave fund and designed to get employers into compliance so workers can finally have access to what they are owed. The alternative is years more of delay, litigation and workers stuck waiting.

This approach strikes the right balance. It protects the integrity of the fund, incentivises participation and, most importantly, gets workers connected with their entitlements sooner rather than later. This bill also recognises the reality that we are dealing with historical records, sometimes going back decades. In some cases, payroll and service records no longer exist. This bill allows reasonable assumptions to be made about service where records are incomplete, so workers are not punished because paperwork has been lost in time. Again, this is about fairness. A miner should not miss out on leave they earn simply because an employer no longer holds a file from 20 years ago.

This bill also fixes the additional levy rate applied to late payments. At the moment, the legislation references a defunct interest rate that is no longer publishable. That undermines compliance and weakens enforcement. By updating the rate to one linked to the Reserve Bank or set by regulation, the bill restores the additional levy as a meaningful incentive to pay on time. That strengthens the scheme and protects workers into the future.

I want to talk specifically about what this means for the Hunter. The Hunter Valley is the beating heart of Australia's coal industry. Generations of families have worked in mining. It has built towns, funded schools and supported local communities. When people talk about coal in abstract terms, I remind them they're talking about my neighbours, my mates—about electricians, fitters, operators, truckies, cleaners, shotfirers and maintenance crews. This bill will benefit workers across the Hunter Valley and the New South Wales North Coast, the Illawarra, Central Queensland and Mackay and the Whitsundays. But for the Hunter it is especially significant. It means workers who have moved between employers will finally see their service recognised. It means miners approaching retirement will not be left short. It means certainty where there has been confusion. And it sends a very clear message: Labor has your back.

Let's be honest about something else. When it comes to coalminers, there's only one party in this parliament that consistently stands up for them, and that's the Australian Labor Party. Labor built the industrial protections that miners rely on. Labor supports collective bargaining. Labor defends long service leave. Labor brought in same job, same pay. Labor understands that a strong industry, strong work and strong workers go hand in hand. Too often we hear lectures about coal communities from people who have never stepped foot on a mine site. Too often we see miners talked about as an inconvenience rather than a workforce that deserves respect. Labor does not do that.

We back miners, because we are miners. I stand here as proof of that. I am not a career politician who discovered coal when I first ran for office. I lived it, I worked it and I will always fight for the people who still work in it. This bill also shows what responsible transition looks like. It does not abandon workers or strip away their entitlements. Instead, it says that while mining continues workers will be protected. Their leave will be honoured. Their service will count. That is what a just approach looks like.

I also want to say something about trust, because trust matters in communities like mine. For too long, coalminers have been told one thing and delivered another—promises made at election time, more words spoken at press conferences, and then silence when it comes time to actually stand up for the workers and the workforce. That is why legislation like this matters: because it shows follow-through, it shows that when issues are identified and when court decisions clarify longstanding disputes this government acts, and we act with workers in front of mind. This bill does not just tidy up a technical problem. It restores confidence in the system that miners rely on. It says that if you have put the years in and you've done the hard yards across multiple sites and employers then your service will be recognised. Your leave will not disappear into a legal grey zone.

That certainty is especially important for older workers. I've spoken to miners in their 50s and 60s who have been genuinely worried about whether their long service leave would ever materialise. This bill answers those concerns. It's also a matter for younger workers coming into the industry. When you start out you want to know that the rules are fair. You want to know that the system works. You want to know that loyalty and hard work are valued. By fixing these legacy issues we are now strengthening the scheme for the next generation of miners as well as the current ones.

I also want to acknowledge the many contractors and ancillary workers who keep the industry moving. Too often when people talk about mining the only picture is the big operators. But anyone who has worked on a mine site knows the reality. It is the maintenance crews. It is the fitters. It is the sparkies. It's the emergency response teams. It's the water cart operators. It's the people who test, inspect and repair equipment so everyone gets home safe at the end of shift. Many of these workers have spent decades moving between sites and employers, doing essential work, yet have been the ones most affected by gaps in the long service leave scheme.

I want to put a human face on what these gaps in the system actually mean. In my electorate of Hunter I spoke with a tradie from Cessnock named Jeremy, who works in the black coal industry. Jeremy eventually had his long service leave recognised under the coal long service leave scheme, but only after an 18-month process of gathering evidence from multiple employers and proving he'd been working on site in the industry that whole time. Because he worked for contractors, he was not automatically covered. He had to track down old payslips, bank records and employment details dating back years just to prove what everyone already knew: that he'd been working in the industry the whole time. As Jeremy put it: 'It was heavily scrutinised. It should not be that hard when you have been on site the whole time doing the work.'

Years later, one former employer even attempted to change recognised service, arguing technicalities about whether the equipment he worked on counted as mining work. With union support, Jeremy successfully defended this claim, but it reinforced just how vulnerable workers can be when the law leaves room for ambiguity. In Jeremy's words: 'It became a matter of principle. If you have put the time in, it should be recognised.'

Today, Jeremy is finally on long service leave. After unfortunately losing his father in a tragic accident last year, that leave has allowed him to support his family and help his mother adjust to life on her own. 'This industry is intense,' he said. 'Long service leave is recognition that you have dedicated years to it. It gives you time you would not otherwise have—proper time with family.' Jeremy got there in the end, but he should not have had to fight that hard for something he had already earned. And that's exactly why reforms like the ones in this bill matter.

The legislation is part of Labor's long tradition of standing up for workers and fixing broken systems so entitlements are real, not just words on paper. I am proud to support this bill. I am proud to stand up for coalminers and I'm proud to represent a community that have built this country with their hands, their backs and their sacrifice. Labor will always stand up for working people. We will always back the Hunter and we'll always back coalminers. I commend the bill to the House.

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