Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Farrell, for the question. Let me make it very, very clear—and, I have to say, I would expect that there would be consensus on this within this chamber—employers who exploit workers should be under absolutely no illusion: this government will not tolerate the exploitation of workers. In relation to your specific question, you will be aware that the government intends to introduce its robust legislation in relation to stopping the exploitation of workers very shortly. I look forward to the support of those opposite in relation to this legislation.

In terms of the action the government has taken since first being elected to office—not recently, but in 2013—we have done several things to ensure that we tackle the issue of exploitation. In six years those on the other side failed to take one step or introduce a policy that would tackle exploitation. In fact, when the current Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten, was the relevant minister, do you know what he did, Mr President? He slashed the funding of the Fair Work Ombudsman by 17 per cent, from $150 million to $124 million. But he actually went further than that: he cut their staff by 20 per cent, from 900 to 723. This government on the other hand has taken several positive policy steps to ensure that the exploitation of vulnerable workers is addressed. But I look forward to, in a weeks time, getting the agreement of those opposite to support our strong, robust policy. (Time expired)