Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 14 August 2003 in this chamber I commented on circumstances in which the Metro group of companies operated by the Coughlin family were placed in voluntary administration, resulting in approximately 300 employees losing their jobs and being deprived of about $9 million in outstanding entitlements. While a portion of arrears was recovered for some of the workers as a result of a determined effort by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, who were able to establish that employees had been transferred between companies without their consent, that good fortune did not apply in the majority of cases. In fact, small business owners in the St George and Sutherland Shire areas also lost in the order of $30 million, with several businesses being driven into receivership by nonpayment of their contractual entitlements.

What I did not discuss in August 2003 was that, prior to the Metro group of companies being put into voluntary liquidation, the Coughlin family established another company in China called JKJT, which traded as Shelf Retail Equipment Pty Ltd. It is perhaps no surprise that, after the winding up of the Metro group in Australia, JKJT commenced providing the same product to the same customers of the failed Metro group, from China using cheap Chinese labour. Channel 9’s A Current Affair program, the AMWU and the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader have done an excellent job reporting on the activities of the Coughlin family, who continue to live in luxury but still engage in questionable business practices. But this method of public shaming is not enough unless and until company directors who behave in this manner learn that by law enforcement action they will actually lose their own assets. Until then we will continue to see hardworking Australian workers and business owners being deprived of their livelihoods and their legitimate entitlements.

The parliament has in fact passed legislation that would enable the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to recover assets from a corporation that is found to have deliberately shifted assets for the purpose of avoiding paying employee entitlements. To date, it does not appear that we have seen any action against this group of companies or its directors by ASIC. It may well be the case that the laws are too restrictive, that the burden of proof is too onerous to be utilised in these circumstances. It may be that ASIC has not been properly resourced to pursue these sorts of activities. Whatever the situation is, it needs to be addressed. Australians should not see decent Australian workers and small business owners being deprived of their entitlements in this way. (Time expired)