Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in respect of the Fair Work Amendment (COVID-19) Bill 2020 and make the point that Australia needs a universal paid pandemic leave scheme to protect workers, public health and the national economy, and we need it quickly. Labor and the unions have been calling for paid pandemic leave since the start of this health and economic crisis nearly six months ago. It was evident to Labor and the unions from the very beginning that, with one in every three workers in the country not having access to paid sick leave, there could be and is a big problem.

The problem is the public health risk of people having to choose between forgoing their income and not being able to pay their bills, and turning up to work sick. We know that an estimated 3.7 million Australians don't have any access to paid sick leave or the other protections of permanent employment. These include casuals, contractors, freelancers, sole traders and gig economy workers. Many permanent workers have exhausted their sick leave entitlements already. The obvious risk Labor foresaw from the beginning of this crisis was that, without pandemic leave, many would continue to turn up to work when they were sick or should have been isolating, thereby potentially spreading the virus to their work colleagues and the broader community. But, just as they did with our early calls for a wage subsidy, the government rejected our calls for universal paid pandemic leave for workers, such as casuals, unable to access such arrangements. Despite being warned, the government stubbornly refused even to anticipate the problem, let alone act on the problem, even when it was clear that Labor and the unions had predicted what indeed has happened.

There is still a very real risk of the second wave extending beyond Victoria, although the good news today, of course, is that the numbers continue to fall in that state and are getting close to 100. Given that what was originally feared has become reality, the government needs to act now and introduce a universal paid pandemic leave scheme to ensure that every Australian worker who needs to stay home knows that they will not be financially penalised for doing so. Not addressing this issue will only lead to the continuation of the community spread of the virus and its devastating impact on our community. Universal paid pandemic leave will help stop the spread of the virus and reduce the chances of a full second wave. If Mr Morrison had listened six months ago, the second wave experienced by Victoria might have been far less severe. Paid pandemic leave is meant to prevent an outbreak. We need a national scheme now to prevent a repeat of the Victorian outbreak in other states. Workers cannot be forced to choose between paying their bills and protecting their colleagues, customers and patients.

That being said, while Labor support the bill we cannot support the amendments. We take this position on the basis of previous advice that, should this bill pass this house amended in this way, the other house would likely rule it out of order. Labor want the government to introduce universal paid pandemic leave now. We also believe the government should contribute to the cost of such a scheme. We believe payments should be wage-like—that is, paid by the employer as they normally would pay any other kind of leave. Unless we get a universal scheme, we will have more community transmission, leading to more outbreaks and an economy-smashing lockdown. We cannot afford not to do this.

Madam Acting Deputy President, the bill before you isn't perfect—nothing that the Greens ever do is. It isn't necessarily the way Labor would do it. Fourteen days does not properly provide for the circumstances in which a worker may have to isolate several times. Given the economic circumstances in which businesses find themselves, we believe the Commonwealth should contribute to the cost of the paid pandemic leave, but, as we say all too frequently these days, we shouldn't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.