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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Watt. In the middle of the pandemic, Qantas sacked 1,700 of their ground crew workers and outsourced their jobs. Could the minister please update the Senate on the High Court decision in the Qantas Airways Limited v Transport Workers Union of Australia case regarding these sackings handed down this morning?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Sheldon for this question. As I've said before, Senator Sheldon is one of a number of Senators on this side of the chamber who have a long record of standing up for the Qantas workforce, a much longer record than the two weeks in which we've seen some spin type attempts from the opposition, and some of them are speaking up now. It's always good to hear from you, the National Party, when things haven't gone your way. Today, the highest court in the land has sent a clear message to Qantas that how they've treated their workers has not been up to scratch, and, in fact, it is illegal. It sends a very clear message not just to Qantas but to large companies across Australia that they need to treat their workforce with respect and not look for loopholes in the law to get around the system to undercut wages and avoid their obligations. Of course, that's exactly what this government is trying to do with the legislation we're putting to the parliament at the moment—close the loopholes. It's even in the name of the legislation.

Cases like Qantas are why we want to get on with closing those loopholes. Qantas needs to remember that it has to have a responsibility not just to its shareholders but to its workers and customers. This government, those on this side of the chamber, stood up in the public interest to support the workers who had been illegally sacked. But what did we see from the previous government? They spent taxpayer money to keep people in work during the pandemic without making it a requirement to keep people in work. Most companies honoured that principle, but Qantas took the money and sacked their workforce anyway.

Workers this morning can feel a sense of justification and redemption with the decision. I say to the Qantas workers: you did nothing wrong; Qantas broke the law and the previous government refused to stand with you. The company stood down their workforce and forced them to run down their leave balances so they could reduce the pay-out they would receive when they illegally sacked them. They have been held to account today, that is a very good thing, and all parts of this chamber should listen.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Senator Sheldon, your first supplementary?

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

What did the previous government do to prevent illegal sackings while they were receiving millions of dollars of taxpayer funded pandemic support?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sheldon, I could answer your question with one word—nothing—but I'll give you a slightly longer answer. If you were to only listen to the Liberal and National parties now that they are in opposition, you would be forgiven for thinking that they might actually have grown a backbone and stood up for workers. Luckily, for the benefit of the Australian public, we kept the receipts from their time in office. When Qantas sacked and outsourced thousands of its workforce, despite receiving $2.7 billion in taxpayer support, including $900 million for JobKeeper, one coalition minister at the time said it was:

… a commercial decision for Qantas, and Qantas are entitled to make those decisions.

Which coalition minister might that have been at the time? Senator Cash! You can always rely on Senator Cash to kick workers when they're down, and that's what she did when she was a minister in the former government. The then industrial relations minister, Christian Porter, said it was 'a good model' and the then transport minister, Michael McCormack, said, 'I know the decisions are in the best interests of their company, going forward.' (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sheldon, a second supplementary?

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

There you go; you've exposed the lot of it. What is the Albanese government doing to support workers and ensure they are protected?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Sheldon. For starters, we intervene in court cases when workers' rights are on the line. We intervened in this court case and took a position because Qantas did the wrong thing. What did we see from the coalition government when they were in power? When cases went to the High Court, they did sometimes intervene. They intervened to undermine agreed conditions in enterprise agreements. They intervened to cut the rights of casuals and shiftworkers. In contrast, the Albanese government is determined to close the loopholes, and we look forward to certain groups who say they care for workers—hello, Senator Hanson, Senator Roberts and Senator Pocock—voting with us to make sure that stops.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, please direct your comments to the chair.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is acting to close various loopholes, like criminalising wage theft, getting rid of the idea of forced permanent casual workers, and giving casual workers who are working like they're permanent a chance to convert to permanent employment. As I say, we look forward to all parties in this chamber who say they care about workers voting with us and getting on with it this year. (Time expired)