Hanson keeps Coalition hanging on Ensuring Integrity Bill

As Pauline Hanson refuses to guarantee her support, employers swing behind government attempts to convince the crossbench to back the union-busting bill.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson speaks during a doorstop interview at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.

Employers have swung in behind government attempts to convince the Senate crossbench to back the Ensuring Integrity Bill, accusing unions of “deliberate untruths and concocted misrepresentations about the impact of the proposed union-restricting laws.

Pauline Hanson refused on Monday to guarantee that she would support the bill, accusing the government of using a sledgehammer to attack unions while “looking after” big business.

With Centre Alliance backing the bill, the government needs the two Senate votes of One Nation or the support of Jacqui Lambie to get the bill passed.

READ MORE: Editorial — Workplace legislation will lift productivity and jobs | Hanson not yet sold on union bill

As she was lobbied intensely by the ACTU to oppose the bill, Senator Hanson said she would “take my time this week” to have discussions with unions about their concerns, including that officials could be banned for minor paperwork breaches.

“I am not going out there to union bash,” she said, adding that the level of union misconduct was not important compared to issues like the drought.

“I am not going to go out there and fall in line with the government because that’s what they want because they are looking after big business and the multinationals. They can’t even deal with the multinationals here. They can’t even deal with China taking over this country.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson said there was nothing in the bill that stopped unions raising and responding to safety concerns, and claim that union would be shut down if they missed a deadline were completely false.

“Just as we must not turn a blind eye to the unacceptable behaviour that has come to light in parts of the banking industry, we must not do the same with our registered organisations,” he said.

Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott said the crossbench should resist the barrage of misrepresentation and deflection from the union movement and vote for the bill.

“The measures as they stand would promote greater compliance with Australia’s workplace laws and act as a deterrent to recidivist law-breaking – the type of behaviour that has seen the CFMEU alone rack up more than $16 million in penalties for over 2000 contraventions,” he said.

Unions on Monday attempted to increase pressure on One Nation and independent senator Jacqui Lambie to oppose the bill by asking nurses, flight attendants and financial sector workers to explain how they believe the bill would impact them.

Teri O’Toole, a flight attendant and secretary of the Flight Attendant’s Association of Australia’s international division, said the bill would “destroy small unions who simply don’t have the compliance people” to ensure they do not miss important paperwork deadlines.

“All of the elected officials are flight attendants, they work on their days off after they finish flying. We can’t afford to have a full-time compliance officer and just like small business, we can’t be expected to do the same amount of paperwork with very few staff to do it,” she said. “If we do miss a deadline, we can be shut down.”

While up to eight unions were represented by members at a press conference hosted by the Australian Council of Trade Unions at Parliament House, the CFMEU was absent.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil refused to acknowledge bad behaviour from the CFMEU but said if it was deregistered under the bill workers would be left without protection.

“What we know about the deregistration of any union is that it immediately leaves workers without representation, without protection, without people to stand up for them when things go wrong,” Ms O’Neil said.

“We know this is a dangerous industry but it’s not just about safety, it’s also about basic conditions. When someone’s discriminated against or bullied or treated unfairly, it’s unions that are in their corner. When someone isn’t paid correctly.”