Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure, Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022. What we have before us today is a bill that in the very short time which we have had to examine it as the Senate, has been exposed as an absolute shambles. Those on the other side don't seem to understand that governments do not create jobs. Employers do. Businesses do. Industry does. What governments do is put in place frameworks under which employers have to operate.

In relation to the bill that we currently have before us, let's look at what the job creators of Australia have to say. As at 27 November—all of two days ago—this is what the Australian Industry Group had to say:

The late night deal between Senator Pocock and the Federal Government means Australian industry now faces an industrial relations system riddled with conflict, complexity and uncertainty.

The deal as it stands does not remove the core concerns for industry …

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We now face the prospect of more strikes and fewer jobs. There has been no modelling on any economic benefit of the legislation, only the vague hope that employers with an industrial gun to their head will pay more and somehow not pass costs onto consumers or reduce their headcount.

Let's now look at what the other job creator, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in relation to this bill but two days ago:

Unfortunately, this Bill still puts Australian jobs and businesses at risk. It is fundamentally flawed and simply cannot be improved through the amendments that are now proposed. In our view it is not fit for passage.

The Minerals Council of Australia said:

The Minerals Council of Australia remains concerned that Government's proposed amendments to the Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation … do not go far enough in addressing industry concerns about the unintended impact of the bill.

The Business Council of Australia had this to say:

This is a huge economic risk and there is no evidence multi-employer bargaining will lift wages. In fact, we remain concerned that this fundamentally flawed bill could make things much worse.

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At a time of global economic uncertainty, skyrocketing inflation and a global cost of living crisis, Australia has almost full employment and wages are beginning to strengthen, why are we taking this risk?

Peter Strong, formerly of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, said:

One of Labor's election promises for small business—now a broken promise—was to 'draw on Labor's history of working with unions, workers and industry to deliver better outcomes with settings that are simpler, more accessible, and fair'. The opposite of that is happening.

What we have is a bill. We have said what the job creators of this country think about it. That is what the job creators of this country think about Labor's extreme industrial relations legislation.

Let's now contrast that with what John Setka, the head of the most militant union in Australia, the CFMMEU, has to say about the bill.