David Pocock helps Albo’s IR bill over the line in win for Labor
In a major win for Anthony Albanese, a deal has been done to get landmark workplace laws legislated – including the right to disconnect.
Millions of workers will have the right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from their bosses outside of work hours after the Albanese government clinched a deal to pass its landmark workplace relations Bill.
After securing a deal with the Greens and independent senator Lidia Thorpe, ACT senator David Pocock pledged his support late on Wednesday, ahead of the expected vote on Thursday for the second tranche of Labor’s Closing Loopholes Bill.
Senator Pocock’s support came with significant amendments, namely stronger protections and greater rights for casual employees and gig workers, improved road safety and a strengthened Greens’ proposal for a right to disconnect.
“The changes the crossbench has negotiated make it a much simpler, fairer bill that preserves choice and flexibility,” Senator Pocock said.
He said his amendments on right to disconnect further strengthened the original proposal put forward by the Greens in exchange for their support. Senator Pocock said the proposal would be “more workable” now.
“Rather than an outright prohibition on employers contacting their employees, workers now have a right not to monitor or respond to unreasonable contact outside of work hours where they aren’t compensated for this,” he said.
Workers will be able to take their employer to the Fair Work Commission to stop them unreasonably contacting them outside of work hours, and bosses could face fines if they persist.
Small businesses will have extra time to adapt to the new rules, and will be carved out of civil penalties provisions.
The right to disconnect was heavily criticised by employers, but Senator Pocock said the changes “strike the right balance and resolve a huge number of concerns stakeholders have raised.
The Greens, who put the original idea to the government in exchange for their support, clinched a deal with the government earlier on Wednesday.
“Whether you’re a nurse, teacher, or hospo worker, the Greens believe you shouldn’t have to answer calls or texts from your boss on your day off or after hours if you’re not being paid for it,” Greens Leader Adam Bandt said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier defended the principle as he hosed down concerns about the protection for employees.
“What we’re simply saying is, someone who’s not being paid 24 hours a day shouldn’t be penalised if they’re not online and available 24 hours a day,” he said.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke heralded the impending passage of the Bill, saying it gave casual workers a “clearer pathway to permanent work”, with gig workers and truckies to “finally benefit” from minimum standards.
“Last year we changed the law to criminalise wage theft and stop the underpayment of workers through the use of labour hire. Now we’re poised to close more of the workplace loopholes that have been undermining wages and worker safety,” Mr Burke said in a statement.
“The government thanks the Senate crossbenchers for their consecutive engagement.”
‘Overreach’: Jacqui Lambie’s bold claim
Earlier, senate kingmaker Jacqui Lambie has branded the right to disconnect as an overreach that has no business being included in the legislation.
“Nobody has ever spoken to me in the 10 years I’ve been in and out of politics about phone calls after hours – not one person,” she told ABC Radio.
“I just think if there’s not a problem why are we trying to fix it?”
It comes as the chief executives of Australia’s peak business lobbies, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business NSW and the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed frustration at workers’ new right to disconnect.
“Most of our members are small businesses that contribute so much, and we will burden them with additional constraints and costs,” they wrote.
“A one-size-fits-all approach to the casual labour market, in an economy that is already short of essential skills, could not come at a worse time.”
‘Not the Academy Awards’: QT erupts
Question Time erupted into applause on Wednesday afternoon, causing Speaker Milton Dick to remind parliamentarians they were not at the Academy Awards.
It followed a Jack Nicholson-off between Mr Albanese and Coalition front bencher Dan Tehan.
A day earlier, Mr Albanese had made reference to a line in the ABC docu-series Nemesis about now- Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and his promise to “smile more”.
“I was reminded that the Leader of the Opposition, his big commitment to be made leader was going to be like Little Miss Sunshine. Instead, he gave us Jack Nicholson in The Shining smashing through the walls, full of negativity, full of abuse,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.
A day later, Nicholson remained front-of-mind after Mr Albanese fielded a question from a Coalition backbencher, who “wasn’t a part of the circus that we have seen on Nemesis”.
“Some people asked me last night why, of all the Jack Nicholson movies, I picked The Shining?” A jovial Mr Albanese told the chamber.
“Well, it couldn’t be A Few Good Men … It certainly couldn’t be Terms of Endearment.”
Stifling a laugh, Mr Dick asked the Prime Minister to pause and the house to come to order, as Mr Tehan asked for a point of order on relevance.
“You can’t handle the truth,” Mr Tehan said before being cut off.
Mr Dick told him to leave the chamber, prompting the Coalition to burst into applause.
“This is Question Time, not the Academy Awards,” the speaker said.
Broken promises and bad decisions
Question Time on Wednesday was dominated by Labor spruiking their cost-of-living tax cuts, while the Coalition sought to undermine all of the government’s promises and set up Mr Albanese as an untrustworthy leader.
The first question Opposition Leader Peter Dutton put to the Prime Minister was whether “every Australian (is) worse off as a result of your broken promises and bad decisions”.
Mr Albanese used it as a springboard to launch into the same attack of the Coalition he’s been running all week.
“If they really thought their system was better, they’d be voting against it and promising to roll it back. Unless they do that, unless they do that – and who knows, they change their position every day – it’s still possible,” he said.
“Now they’re voting for it.”
“Recycled scare campaign”
Meanwhile, in the Senate, an attempt to land a blow on the Labor over the changes to the stage 3 tax cuts has been laughed off by Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Senator Wong – who represents the Prime Minister in the upper house – was repeatedly asked how Australians could trust Mr Albanese given up until last month, he was committed to the original tax cuts.
Opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume questioned whether that same commitment could be extended towards negative gearing or tax exemption on the family home.
The Labor Senator turned to her frontbench, laughed, before standing to her feet to launch her counterattack.
“You know what’s in the bottom drawer, this pathetic, recycled scare campaign,” Senator Wong hit back.
Senator Wong told the chamber she would not be playing the “rule in, rule out game”.
Meanwhile, Labor sought to spruik the benefits of the tax plan, which redistributes tax cuts from higher income earners to those earning under $150,000, with several senators asking about the benefits of the plan for women.
Tax indexation out of the question: Labor
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has shut down the idea of implementing tax indexation to deal with bracket creep.
Fielding a question from independent MP Zoe Daniel, Mr Chalmers acknowledged the impact bracket creep has on take-home pay, but said there “is more than one way to return bracket creep to hardworking Australians”.
A major criticism of the government’s changes to the legislated-stage 3 tax cuts is that it won’t deal with bracket creep, which is where inflation and other factors push wages up to a higher tax bracket.
“We’re not proposing to index the thresholds … But we have found a very effective way to return bracket creep to more people,” Mr Chalmers said.
“You can return bracket creep in a number of ways … Our responsibility and our objective is to return more bracket creep to middle Australia.“
Earlier, he outlined the timeline of how contentious changes to the stage 3 tax cuts came about.
After fielding a question from shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, Mr Chalmers reiterated what treasury officials told a Coalition-led inquiry on Monday.
“The Prime Minister and I … wanted to do something bigger and broader without putting extra pressure on inflation. We made that clear over the course of summer,” Mr Chalmers said.
“And as the treasury has made clear, on December 11, they conveyed to colleagues … that they thought that using the tax system would be an appropriate way to provide more cost-of-living relief to more people, without putting extra pressure on inflation.
“It became increasingly clear to us in the lead-up to the cabinet decision, that the tax system had an important role to play there.”
The inquiry earlier this week heard from senior public servants that it was the idea of treasury secretary, Steven Kennedy, to tinker with the income tax system to provide cost-of-living measures that wouldn’t put pressure on inflation.
Fresh face in the senate
Meanwhile, there was a fresh face introduced to the Senate on Wednesday afternoon.
Victorian senator Raff Ciccone beamed as he held his newly arrived bundle of joy, Amato, following question time.
He was quickly ambushed by the Labor benches as they cooed over the newest member of the team.
Baby Amato’s time in the spotlight comes just a day after Senator Wong name dropped him in the chamber.
“I also welcome (Senator Ciccone) back and take the opportunity, again, to congratulate him and Sarah on the beautiful Amato, who we had the pleasure of meeting yesterday, although he was asleep,” he said.
It’s been a busy couple of days in the capital for the youngin, who was pictured cuddling up with the Prime Minister also on Monday.
‘No evidence’ new standards will mean expensive cars
There is no evidence car prices in Australia will rise under new rules to overhaul the nation’s fuel efficiency standards, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie took the government to task over the standards which would incentivise the car industry to boost the sales of low and zero emissions vehicles or face fines for selling too many fuel-hungry cars.
“Will you provide a clear guarantee to the Australian people that there will be no increase in the purchase price of any model of four wheel drive, ute or SUVs?” she asked.
Senator Watt said there was “no evidence” whatsoever from international experience of a price increase after changes to fuel standards.
“What we have, as expected, is the same scare campaigns from the National Party. What we have is ‘ending the weekend Mark II’,” he responded.
The answer was a call back to the rhetoric used by Scott Morrison back in 2019 when he claimed then-Labor leader Bill Shorten’s plan to boost EV sales was him trying to “end the weekend” of Aussies who loved their four-wheel drives.
Senator McKenzie then pressed whether the government would release the modelling behind the plan.
He encouraged her to read the impact statement released by Transport Minister Catherine King and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.
“You’ll probably find a lot of answers to the questions she asked in there,” he said.
“It’s been a good negotiation, we’ve pushed the government really hard to make this legislation work to provide the flexibility that is needed and there is a huge amount in it,” he told Sky News.
Fiery clash over tax cuts
Sunrise host Natalie Barr has had to break up a fiery clash between two politicians over Labor’s changes in tax cuts.
Clare O’Neil and Jane Hume traded barbs over accusations the tax changes were politically driven.
In a tense exchange on Tuesday, Ms O’Neil was interrupted after she cited polls found two-thirds of Aussie voters were behind Labor’s stage 3 tax cuts.
“I just get frustrated because all I hear from the Liberals is politics, politics, politics. This is not about politics, this is about people,” Ms O’Neil said.
Senator Hume quickly interjected to claim that Labor’s tax overhaul was an attempt to drum up support ahead of a by-election in Victoria’s marginal seat of Dunkley in early March.
“Nonsense. This is about a by-election,” Senator Hume interrupted
Ms O’Neil fired back: “If I could finish the sentence, that would be so nice.”
The Home Affairs Minister went on to mention Wednesday’s International Women’s Day, claiming that “90 per cent” of women in the country will benefit from the government’s stage 3 tax cuts.
Senator Hume then redirected her attack to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling him a “liar”, prompting Sunrise host Natalie Barr to step in.
“Can we please be kind and respectful to each other?” Barr pleaded.
Albo spruiks tax cut victory
Mr Albanese has revelled in his tax cuts victory after Peter Dutton and the Coalition reluctantly buckled to Labor’s plan.
Running a victory lap on Wednesday, Mr Albanese declared his revamped tax cuts would ensure Australian women weren’t being “left behind”.
“Ninety per cent of women will get a larger tax cut than they were going to get, and 100 per cent of women will get a tax cut,” he told reporters.
“When you look at the impact, as well as the 930,000 extra hours per week that will go into labour supply, a lot of that is women returning to work, it’s people working part-time as they juggle the duties of caring for children.”
Under the changes, tax cuts to high-income earners will be redistributed to workers earning under $150,000.
The lowest tax bracket will be reduced from 19 per cent to 16 per cent for earnings under $45,000 and the 37 per cent tax rate will be retained for those earning between $135,000 and $190,000.
Nationals MP David Littleproud slammed the policy as a “short-term solution”.
“You’re not addressing the drivers of inflation and this is a short-term solution that has blown up long-term tax reform in five months,” he said on Wednesday.
The Coalition has vowed to unveil a new tax policy ahead of the next election, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said.
“We won’t stand in the way of these tax cuts. but we will also bring policy that deals with tax reform in this country and deals with bracket creep,” she said.
Negative gearing should be on the table: crossbench
Mr Albanese is under pressure to make changes to negative gearing as two of the Senate’s kingmakers call for more to be done on tax reform.
The Prime Minister deflected a grilling about whether Labor had plans to revisit the contentious plan to wind back the scheme it took to the 2019 election during question time on Tuesday.
But senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock – who hold a crucial swing vote in the upper house – have said they want negative gearing on the table as part of action on the housing crisis.
“The gall of some of these politicians who have multiple investment properties to get out up there and say we cannot touch negative gearing and capital gains tax discount – I think they have to be on the table,” Senator Pocock told ABC Radio.
“If we want to turn this ship around and have housing is something that everyone in our community can afford and to not have housing where it’s arguably easier to buy your second house than it is your first house then you’ve got to look at the tax system and the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing are something that we’re going to have to have a discussion about.
“But you know you look at the hysteria, led by people who have multiple properties.”
The Tasmanian senator agreed, asking pollies who were listening to the radio program on Wednesday morning: “How many houses do you need to invest?”
“I just remind those people they can’t take that money with them when they’re 10 foot under … It is part of the reason that we’re having a housing crisis out there.”
Later, Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe also threw her support behind winding back negative gearing. It means the government, should the move to act, theoretically has the numbers to wind back the scheme.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has previously said the government was “not contemplating or considering resurrecting the policies that we took to the 2019 election”.
Negative gearing occurs when the cost of owning a rental property outweighs the income it generates each year.
This creates a taxable loss, which can normally be offset against other income, including your salary, to provide tax savings.
The Greens got in on the action, too, asking whether the government would consider changing taxes around the housing sector, like negative gearing and capital gains concessions.
Greens leader Adam Bandt invoked Mr Albanese’s own words – asking him whether, given the government’s decision to pivot away from legislated stage 3 tax cuts was due to the economic climate of the time – the government would do the same to meet ongoing housing concerns.
“We have consistently said, including to the Greens, that the key to the solution for housing in this country is housing supply,” Mr Albanese said in response.
‘Matter of urgency’: PM condemns violence ‘epidemic’
Mr Albanese has urged men to take greater action to reduce “shocking” rates of violence against women in Australia.
The Prime Minister made the remarks at a UN Women Australia’s International Women’s Day breakfast at Parliament House on Wednesday morning.
He affirmed his government’s commitment to take greater action towards reaching gender equality, which he said began with acknowledging a few “hard truths”.
“One death from family violence is one too many. One death a week is an epidemic,” Mr Albanese told attendees.
“It is an offence against every value we hold as Australians. It flies in the face of everything we say and imagine about ourselves as a nation.”
On average, one woman is killed by an intimate partner every week in Australia.
An estimated one in six women aged 18 and over have experienced violence by a partner since the age of 15, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Mr Albanese said men had to be prepared to “take responsibility” for their actions and attitudes to drive genuine changes.
“All the data tells us that men who perpetrate violence as adults are more likely to have experienced violence as a child,” he said.
“We know that’s not the reality for everyone. Ending violence in a generation means making sure it’s not the reality for anyone because violence against women and children is never acceptable.”
Concerning trend in schools
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has issued a warning to Aussie parents after authorities seized more than $1m worth of illegal vapes off the streets.
More than 30,000 nicotine vaping products were seized in raids of retailers across Sydney on Monday under a joint crackdown on the illegal e-cigarette market.
Mr Butler said new research showed that vapes were being overwhelmingly targeted to underage kids, warning that nine in 10 vape stores are located within walking distance of schools.
“What this thing is designed to do is to hook a new generation to nicotine addiction. And tragically, it’s working. It’s working right across the world,” he told ABC.
“School communities now tell us this is the No. 1 behavioural issue they face; principals, parents, communities and so on and it’s just exploded over the last several years.”
New restrictions on vape flavours and packaging come into effect starting March 1 following an import ban on disposable single-use nicotine vapes.
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