Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to talk about Esso's ugly dispute and what they're doing to 200 families in Gippsland. So far, these brave men and women have been out of work for 8,760 hours. Two hundred and thirty workers went to work, lost their contract and were told, 'You can stay in a job if you take a $45,000 pay cut.' This government is backing Esso-UGL and is supporting companies that don't pay tax in Australia while ripping the hearts out of families and taking food off the table of hardworking Australians who are only out there trying to earn a living, feed their families and make sure their kids have good opportunities.

What we've seen when we've been there is Esso's thug actions against these Australian families. Security guards were hiding in bushes and taking photos of kids on picket lines. That is what we see under this government's watch because the government are backing large multinationals against Australian workers. We see 500 metres of illegally erected fences, and what do the government do about it? Nothing. They back the multinational companies against Australians. At a time when the government are cutting penalty rates and taking away winter supplements from pensioners, they're giving themselves and their millionaire mates an $11,000 tax cut—tax cuts for the rich; nothing for the workers. These people need to be congratulated for what they're doing at Esso— (Time expired)