Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Saturday, 22 July, was a Saturday like any other. While most of us relaxed with family or friends, thousands of gig workers were on Sydney roads, driving passengers or delivering food. One of them was Akshar Deepak Doultani, a 22-year-old master's student from India. Akshar came to this country on a scholarship to pursue his dreams and give his family a brighter future. At around 8 pm, at the intersection of Blaxland Road and Epping Road in Epping, Akshar was making a delivery on his scooter when he was hit by an SUV. He was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital, where, tragically, he died a short time later. I want to pay my respects to Akshar and give my condolences to his family, who have given me permission to share these details.

Akshar is the twelfth food delivery driver, since 2017, known to have been killed while working. As a gig worker, Akshar has no basic employment rights, no minimum wage and no workers compensation. It's a job that forces people to push themselves to the limit to earn enough to make ends meet. This government has committed to reforming this lawless industry. We have committed to preserving flexibility while delivering sustainable minimum standards. The flexibility gig workers have now is a fiction—flexibility to risk their life for $6 an hour, working for a company that won't even compensate their family for their death. There have been 12 deaths since 2017. Twelve families have been failed by the system. Akshar deserves flexibility on his terms. Having that minimum safety net may have saved one of those 12 lives. (Time expired)