David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022 is clearly really important legislation for Australians, particularly workers in areas such as nursing, frontline workers who have not seen wage increases and who are feeling the pinch when it comes to inflation and the cost of living, with electricity prices forecast to go up more. This is really important for us to consider as a Senate. I am very supportive of a number of the measures in this enormous piece of legislation. However, I think it's really important that the Senate has time to consider this, as good as the ideas in the legislation are.

To be clear, I've not seen the legislation. The crossbench has had no opportunity to see it in detail. Those who have had an opportunity to see the legislation have signed nondisclosure agreements. This is brand-new legislation, with a reporting date of a few weeks. It doesn't make sense to me to give crossbench senators a couple of weeks to get across this and to give small business owners who are under the pump a short period of time to do so. Elements of this bill would have huge consequences for our industrial relations laws in Australia. I asked the Parliamentary Library to look at the length of reporting dates for industrial relations reform in Australia, all the way back to Work Choices in 2005 and this sort of reporting date is unprecedented in terms of industrial relations. So I have real concerns about having such a short reporting date.

I have put to the government that I believe there are parts of this big omnibus bill that potentially don't need as long to consider—parts of it around putting gender equity into the Fair Work Act, equal renumeration, the two new expert panels, banning pay secrecy clauses, and the BOOT reforms, which people have known about; there seems to be general consensus. But other elements of the bill are new to many and I think warrant our consideration.

I have circulated an amendment that would allow us to have more time, but I'm certainly open to talking to the government about ensuring that we deal with this legislation in a timely way but also allow the oversight that these committee hearings provide. Being new to this place and having been involved in the committee process for a few bills now, I find quite incredible the access to experts and the ideas that come up, and the genuine consultation, as well as the very collegiate way senators engage to improve legislation.

Given that we haven't seen any details of this bill, given how big it is and, crucially, how important this is to Australians and the future of workers and small businesses in Australia, I would really like the government to ensure that we get the balance right between legislating in a timely manner and having time to really look at the detail, to engage with the various stakeholders and, ultimately, to legislate very important reforms that are needed, that are warranted when wages for many Australians are back at 2008 levels.