Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to support a local community protest in Lilley, which is taking place as we sit in the chamber this morning. Australia Post employees and many other members of the community are gathering outside the Northgate mail exchange to protest against plans to close the Northgate mail processing facility.

More than 700 staff are currently employed at Northgate and at the Gold Coast mail sorting facilities. Up to 200 of those may potentially lose their jobs when Australia Post moves the mail processing facilities from both the Gold Coast and Northgate to the new operation at Yatala. This issue is of considerable concern to me and of great importance to the 500 staff who work at the Northgate centre and live locally. Moving the site to Yatala would have devastating consequences for local employees. If Australia Post goes ahead with this decision, it will be tantamount to summary dismissal for a large number of workers who would simply not be in a position to uproot their families and engage in the sort of commute Australia Post expects them to do. A round trip from Northgate to Yatala is over 100 kilometres. It has been calculated that, if the move goes ahead, workers will have to find hundreds of dollars extra a week out of their family budgets just to get to work. Local families are already squeezed enough. They cannot afford these extra travel costs and reduced wages and conditions.

Australia Post’s not so hidden agenda is clearly an attempt to take advantage of John Howard’s new unfair industrial relations laws to reduce costs at the expense of ordinary postal workers, their families and the local community. The new work site at Yatala is a ‘work choice’ trap. Under Work Choices, the Yatala mail centre would be a greenfields site where Australia Post management could offer postal workers pretty much what they please. At the new site at Yatala, Australia Post would be able to employ new workers under vastly eroded conditions of employment, now available as a result of the industrial relations changes. For employees at the Yatala site, it would be: ‘Goodbye EBA. Goodbye penalties and allowances’ and ‘Hello AWA—take it or leave it.’ In this dog-eat-dog world, even Australia Post employees’ base pay could be eroded in stages.

Australia Post have forged ahead with plans to relocate mail-processing facilities at Yatala, despite overwhelming community opposition. They are so determined to proceed with their plans that they have even bought the site before informing the employees, the union or the local member. It appears that Australia Post are prepared to run roughshod over our local community to take full advantage of the Howard government’s extreme workplace laws.

I want to make it very clear to Australia Post that I oppose their plans. I will do everything within my power to stop this move from going ahead. I serve notice on Australia Post that, if they continue to go down this route, they will be met with fierce opposition. Be assured our local community will fight tooth and nail to secure the jobs and employment conditions of the letter processors at the Northgate centre.