Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to make a contribution to the matters of public interest discussion. I know that MPIs and second reading debates are far ranging, which is good and encouraging. I have to make some comment on Senator Cash’s contribution, some 15 minutes prior to Senator Hanson-Young’s. As a proud West Aussie I was absolutely rapt to know that something that is going to be put into Western Australia could improve Western Australia. By the same token I have to admit that I was absolutely bamboozled to hear a member of the opposition publicly acknowledging the global financial crisis when only two weeks ago in this chamber they voted against any stimulus package. There was a look of horror on their faces on Thursday night when Senator Xenophon came in the chamber and sat on their side. You could hear them groaning.

Then Senator Cash talked about the environment. This is from the party that have been environmental sceptics for the whole Howard era. No wonder I am confused. But, mind you, I am not as confused as they are because of the ghost of Peter Costello. But, anyway, we will get to that later.

I heard Senator Cash promoting Prime Minister Rudd’s stimulus package and saying—and I jotted down some notes—how wonderful that stimulus package will be because it will boost infrastructure investment in local communities, providing economic and social investment. This is the same mob who two weeks ago were going ghostly white when Senator Xenophon joined them on that side of the chamber to vote against our stimulus package. They also talk about how great it would be for farmers but they voted against our $900 aid to farmers that was in that same stimulus package.

Senator Cash began her speech by talking about the grossly shocking exhibition by BHP in Hopetoun in the bottom half of WA where 1,850 jobs were lost. I want to see a road built down there. If it improves tourism in the bottom end of WA that would be fantastic, but there will not be 1,850 people employed on that job. She promoted the fantastic effort of Premier Barnett and said what a wonderful job he has done. As a West Aussie I watched Premier Barnett when BHP announced they were closing the mine and 1,850 jobs would go. He was like a rabbit in the spotlight. He had absolutely no idea what to do. In fact, his minister—I think it was Norman Moore—was even accused of sitting on his thumbs and doing nothing. They did not even ring BHP to see how they could rescue the situation.

Senator Cash, promote Western Australia—please do—but be a little fairer on the reporting of exactly who does what. When all is said and done, you can put as many hundreds and thousands as you like on a manure sandwich but once you bite it it still has that horrible taste.

Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How would you know?

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have heard that is the case, Senator McLucas. Some 1,850 jobs will be gone in that part of the world.

I would like to talk a little bit about the Fair Work Bill and what a wonderful week this will be for working Australians. Regardless of what those opposite wish to think, the Rudd Labor government has a mandate, unlike the Howard Liberal government in 2004, who espoused that they had a mandate to bring in Work Choices. They did not have a damn mandate. There was no mandate. We clearly went to the election saying that, if we were elected, the Rudd Labor government would get rid of Work Choices once and for all. I am very proud to say I am part of the government that took it to the people in the election. This week, with all the best efforts and concerns, we will be relying on the Senate to give the Australian people their mandate and let us get rid of Work Choices.

I would like to home in on one aspect of Work Choices that is dear and close to my heart. I want to talk about how Work Choices has affected the road transport industry—surprise, surprise! For years—and I do speak with some authority here, and I would welcome any interjection from those opposite who would like to take the challenge—

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Please do not encourage interjections, Senator Sterle.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On long-distance transport I welcome any interjections. I will be listening intently if someone wants to have a crack.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No-one has a louder voice than me.

The Acting Deputy President:

Order! Senator Mason, please do not take the bait.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was asked.

The Acting Deputy President:

I am running this chamber at this moment. Please do as I ask.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will come to an agreement: I will ignore Senator Mason’s interjections and I will not talk about his legs that I have to confront each morning in the gym. You should see him in a pair of shorts, Madam Deputy President. I know it is a frightening thought.

It has been well known in this country since the evolution of the round wheel that there is a very close association between rates of pay for truck drivers in the long-distance transport industry and safety on the road. I want to quotes some figures that were supplied to me. They are well known as they have been around for all this year. In the year to June 2008 there were no fewer than 263 fatalities as a result of heavy truck crashes, an increase of approximately 8.7 per cent over the previous year. Over the three years to June 2008 the average annual number of deaths involving truckies or other road users increased by, unfortunately, five per cent per year. Any death is regrettable. We have to do everything we can to diminish the number of deaths. Doing everything we can to diminish the number of deaths is going to take some maturity from the trucking industry. I say that with my hand on my heart. I stress that not only are there some fantastic Australians employed in the road transport industry behind the steering wheel but there are also some very honourable employers. There are employers who put their family home on the line to achieve the best outcome they can to improve not only their lives and those of their children and grandchildren but also the lives of working Australians.

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That’s a common thing with small business right across Australia.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, and big business too. There are some very decent employers who do honestly want to improve the safety of not only truck drivers but other road users. Unfortunately, there is also the other end of the scale. At the other end of the scale there is the ratbag element. In trucking terms they call it the cowboy element. Do not be fooled by the cowboy element; cowboys were also heroes of mine when I was growing up. There is a ratbag element, but you do not expect the main employer group of the road transport industry to have a ratbag attitude towards the rates of pay of long-distance truck drivers and the safety of those truck drivers and other road users. Unfortunately, in this country they do. I am going to have a crack at them, because that is what they need.

I am talking about the Australian Trucking Association, and I would welcome any conversations with them. They do not want to accept that safety on the roads for truck drivers and other road users is directly linked to rates of pay. I will simplify it for the Australian Trucking Association. It is a well-known fact that if long-distance truck drivers are remunerated correctly the roads are safer not only for them but, just as importantly, for other road users. As an ex long-distance road train operator from Western Australia, running through to the Northern Territory, I can tell you that there is nothing worse than a truck driver who is under the pump, whether it be financially or for whatever reason, who is being pushed to the maximum and beyond by an unscrupulous employer. If an employer is fair dinkum about the health and safety of not only his employees but also other road users, he will never hesitate to pay his truck drivers properly, whether those truck drivers are employees or owner-drivers.

Safe truckies are what we want out there. We do not want a busload of schoolchildren coming down a highway when there is a truck driver who is not being paid correctly, who is not adhering to fatigue management and who is under the pump to get that freight to the other side of the country or to another town because his employer is screwing his wages down. I do not know how the Australian Trucking Association can barefacedly tell the Australian public that there is no correlation between safe rates of pay and hours driven. I say what a load of bull! It is disgraceful that they even have the audacity to say that they represent the transport industry. The likes of the Transport Workers Union will take the fight up to them, as will members on this side of the chamber. I urge members on that side of the chamber to take that fight up. If your daughter or son is heading for schoolies in a car, I am sure you will hope and pray that every truck driver coming down that highway is well rested and well remunerated so that there is no need to drive ridiculous hours at ridiculous speeds.

I will go back to my reason for the link to the Fair Work Bill. As part of it, back in July 2008, Julia Gillard, our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, together with Anthony Albanese, the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, and of course Dr Craig Emerson, the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy, jointly announced that the National Transport Commission, the NTC, would investigate and report on driver remuneration and payment methods in the Australian trucking industry and make recommendations for reform. That was all done. The ministers’ media release stated:

The trucking industry prides itself on being highly competitive and efficient. However, the industry’s strength can also be its weakness, with truck drivers often finding themselves in a weak bargaining position and unable to maintain safe work practices.

The results of the NTC inquiry, referred to as the safe payments inquiry, were reported by the National Transport Commission in October 2008, just recently. In brief, the inquiry, conducted by the Hon. Lance Wright QC and Professor Michael Quinlan, of the University of New South Wales, found:

This Review finds that the overwhelming weight of evidence indicates that commercial/industrial practices affecting road transport play a direct and significant role in causing hazardous practices. There is solid survey evidence linking payment levels and systems to crashes—

as I have said.

The sad part is the Australian Trucking Association’s response to the safe payments inquiry. They said:

… the consensus view of the ATA is that the most effective and appropriate way to further improve the industry’s on-road safety performance is to implement and enforce the impending Driving Hours and Fatigue Management effectively and that establishing a “Safe Rates” regime is unnecessary and would be ineffective and unsustainable.

It is with a heavy heart that I have to read that. I cannot believe that that tripe is being peddled by those who claim to be the major employer representative for the road transport industry. Can you imagine if the likes of Qantas and Virgin had that same attitude to pilots? There would be uproar—absolute uproar. We would not put up with it. But in the trucking industry it is quite all right. Is it a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’? I really do not know, but it does absolutely disturb me that they would muddy the waters like that.

As I said earlier, this is an exciting week for workers because we are able to overturn the Work Choices legislation to implement fairness and decency in the workplace. I could go on and talk about this for hours, but time is against me. But I also want to take this last minute to stress that we cannot go along with the rhetoric that all employers are baddies. I never, ever have said that. I could never agree with those opposite, or wherever, who might think that all employees are baddies. There are a lot of decent, hardworking Australians, whether they be employees, small business people, big business people or whatever. They all deserve a fair suck of the sav. They did not get that fair suck of the sav when the ratbag element could manipulate the Work Choices legislation.

Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Acting Deputy President, I rise on a point of order which goes to parliamentary behaviour. I question whether ‘fair suck of the sav’ is at all parliamentary.

Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order, Senator McGauran. Senator Sterle can continue.

Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Madam Acting Deputy President. Thank you very much, Senator McGauran, and I do congratulate you on your re-preselection. So we will restore fairness, we will restore balance and we will restore decency to Australian workplaces. On that, there are only two prime ministers in the great history of this nation who have had the indignity of losing their seats: Stanley Melbourne Bruce and John Winston Howard. Why? Because they saw it as their duty to spend all their years in parliament attacking the fair, decent wages and conditions of Australian workers. Good riddance! Let us turn over a new leaf and start again. Let us get back on the right track.