Senate debates

Monday, 17 August 2015

Bills

Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2]; Second Reading

5:43 pm

Photo of Barry O'SullivanBarry O'Sullivan (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am a good storyteller, so sit quietly, kick your shoes off and lie back. I have got about six minutes to go.

What have we got here? We would like to see these organisations have a tighter regulatory environment, a well-resourced commission or, in this case, changes to the law that will allow us to be able to bring them to account, including the increasing of the penalties and the introduction of criminal offences very similar—listen up—to those for corporations, who have got a very similar role. Corporations have a responsibility, a duty of care, governance obligations and fiduciary duties to their shareholders. The shareholders' interest in the corporations is a financial one. Let us step over into the shoes of the union members. They have an organisation which is very similarly structured, in that people are elected into their positions, as with a board of directors.

Senator Polley interjecting—

Senator Bilyk interjecting—

There are some notes on this if you guys are a bit distracted there with your conversation. I will have my office send you round some of my notes in case you have missed some of the contribution.

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