Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. How is the Albanese Labor government backing truck drivers and what has been the response?

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Moreton for her question and for standing up for workers and for standing up for Australian truck drivers in Queensland and right across Australia. Now, this Labor government is backing the trucking industry and truck drivers who are delivering essential goods across Australia. They deserve to make a decent living. In recognition of this, the government has given the Fair Work Commission the ability to issue contract chain orders and set fair minimum standards across the road transport supply chain, ensuring that truckies in our country get a fair go.

Under the current legislation, the Fair Work Commission must consult when setting contract chain orders for a minimum of six months. This government recognises, with the ongoing war in the Middle East resulting in volatile fuel prices, the commission needs the power to respond more quickly to contract chain order applications to ensure that trucking companies and owner-operators are not left to absorb the costs on their own. In good news for the industry, this government has taken swift and decisive action to do exactly this. Yesterday, we announced that we'll be introducing an amendment to the Fair Work Act to establish an urgent pathway for truckies to argue for their fair share at the commission.

I'm asked about the response to our announcement and what our action has been. Well, there has been broad support right across the transport industry for our action. The president of the National Road Freighters Association, Glyn Castanelli, said the government's announcement couldn't come soon enough and noted, 'We've got to protect truckies and that is what this will do.' The Australian Trucking Association also strongly supported our actions, saying:

The ATA stands today with the Government, with the union, with our employers and with our small operators in … support of this announcement.

Further, the ATA committed, 'We will do anything to speed this amendment through the parliament,' and we thank them for their assistance. The Transport Workers' Union said of the importance of this legislation that the 'government is taking decisive action'. And I'm pleased to say that we even had positive comments in the Courier Mail editorial today which said that these changes are 'good news' for truckies. This Labor government is standing up for our truckies and our road transport industry, ensuring it's reliable and viable resilient into the future.