ACTU urges protesting voters to put Coalition last

Sally McManus says voters planning to support independents or minor parties in protest at Labor over cost-of-living increases should put the Liberals last on May 3.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

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ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged voters planning to support independents or minor parties in protest at Labor over cost-of-living increases to put the Liberals last on May 3, as the union movement launches a defensive campaign to keep Anthony Albanese in power.

As unions prepare to co-ordinate tens of thousands of volunteers to campaign in marginal seats with a “don’t risk Dutton” theme, Ms McManus said she expected Labor would face a protest from voters angry about cost-of-living increases.

The nation’s top union official issued her warning as the Prime Minister faces battles to retain seats against not just the Liberals but the Greens and independents, and polls point towards a hung parliament.

“I think it’s very much the same around the world and I think it’s true that people are under pressure and obviously aren’t thinking through the ins and outs, and why and how, they just know when they go and pay their bills, that it’s costing more,” she said.

Signalling a more defensive campaign than the one the unions ran to help the ALP sweep back into power three years ago, Ms McManus said the union movement’s issues were “all about protecting wage increases, protecting what workers have won with improvements to workers’ rights” under Labor.

In contrast, she said, the Coalition has announced plans to take rights from casuals, abolish the right to disconnect, and signalled an intention to try to repeal the “same job, same pay” laws that have already delivered substantial pay rises.

Given the impact of global inflation, she said, the cost-of-living increases would have occurred if Peter Dutton had been in office. But the Coalition, she said, would have “sat on its hands”, unlike Labor, which changed workplace laws and made decisions to put workers in a better financial position.

“I think people will be wanting to send a message about cost of living but they’re not wanting to vote for Peter Dutton,” she said. “I think people are on to him. They’re concerned that he’s not the solution so I think there might be a protest vote, that’s for sure.

“If you are thinking about voting independent, or differently, but you don’t want Peter Dutton, you have got to put them last. You can’t assume everyone understands how it all works and that’s the simple message to understand, that even if you want to send a message, or you want to try something else, but you don’t want Peter Dutton, you have got to put the Liberals last, or the LNP in Queensland last, or the CLP last if you’re in the Northern Territory.”

Ms McManus said Mr Dutton’s plans to cut 41,000 federal public servants would not only directly impact those workers but flow through to their families, communities and local economies.

“We see it as high risk Dutton being elected because of wage rises being on the table, workers’ rights being on the table, so every union will be spelling that out to their members, explaining straight out of Peter Dutton’s mouth and Michaelia Cash’s mouth what they intend to do,” she said. “So it will be up to people to determine what to do but in the end it will be a huge risk if you vote for him.

“Unlike other elections, where people could say the ACTU is always concerned about workers’ rights because it’s our job to worry about them, this time we are very, very concerned about it, like it’s a massive risk, and I think it will also be a key thing in the election because it’s a cost-of-living election and you have got to have a plan for wages, real wages, to grow if you are serious about addressing it.”

Anthony Albanese said real wages would not have been growing if Mr Dutton had had his way.

He said the “same job same pay” laws had benefited workers employed in the aviation, mining and resources sectors, resulting in pay rises of up to $34,000 a year.