Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm here with the member for Longman to talk about something that's not in either of our electorates—it's actually taking place in the electorate of Gippsland—and that's a strike that has been going on since 20 June 2017. We were at an AMWU dinner the other night and we heard from Troy Carter and Steve about the many other people who have been on this picket line who were basically sacked and then offered their jobs back with a 30 per cent pay cut and a cruel antifamily roster. We have workers who are keen to get in there and do their jobs, but, obviously, with those sorts of conditions, there's no way that any decent Australian could accept such a turnaround. We heard from Troy Carter at the dinner about what it's like to be on that picket line, to be trying to make sure that you have enough food on the table for your family while profits are going to the top end of town.

I join the member for Longman in saying that we need the company to step up. For too long, for over a year, these families in Longford, Victoria have been suffering because of this short-sighted approach to industrial relations. We believe in an Australia that is fair, an Australia that is egalitarian. I'd ask the company to take a kinder heart to Troy Carter, Steve and all those who are on that picket line.