Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every government wants business to succeed. Every employee wants the business they work for to succeed. But around the world there are companies like Amazon who act like they are too big to follow the rules, too big to bargain with workers, too big to answer to parliaments, too big to respect privacy and too big to play fair. Well, here's the truth: no corporation is bigger than a democracy.

Amazon has closed warehouses in Quebec to avoid workers unionising. It has dragged workers through endless litigation on Staten Island. It has silenced staff in Australia and spied on workers in France. At every turn and on a global scale, Amazon has demonstrated a pattern of digital surveillance of workers and a refusal to negotiate with unions. If companies want public contracts, they should meet public standards. If companies want to profit from Australian creators, they have to pay. If companies want to enjoy the benefits of an Australian market, they must follow our rules.

'Make Amazon Pay' isn't a slogan; it's a line in the sand. If they don't bargain, if they don't respect democracy, if they don't protect privacy, if they don't play fair, then they don't get rewarded; it's that simple. If Amazon can afford to rocket billionaires into space, they can pay workers back here on Earth their fair share. It's time to tell Amazon and companies like them that they don't get to run on algorithms and arrogance. (Time expired)