Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business
Acting Attorney-General
Acting Minister for Industrial Relations
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
Senator The Hon. Michaelia Cash
The Morrison Government has welcomed a Senate Committee's recommendation that its industrial relations reform package be passed by Parliament.
The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill addresses known problems within Labor's Fair Work Act that are stifling job creation and holding back wage and productivity growth as Australia recovers from the pandemic recession.
The Senate Education and Employment Committee spent three months examining more than 130 stakeholder submissions on the Bill, as well as holding a series of public hearings at various locations around Australia, including regional communities. That work followed six months of roundtable discussions between the Government, business groups and unions to develop the Bill.
"The Committee's sole recommendation was that the Bill should be passed by Parliament and the Government thanks the Committee for its detailed consideration of these important and much-needed reforms," Acting Minister for Industrial Relations, Michaelia Cash, said.
"Discussions with crossbench Senators and relevant stakeholders are continuing and the Government remains committed to advancing the Bill in the Senate during the coming sitting week.
"Predictably, Labor continues to oppose the Bill and Anthony Albanese's Senate team will now have to explain to Australians why they're opposed to the introduction of criminal penalties for wage theft, the creation of a stronger and clearer pathway for casuals to convert to permanent employment, giving part-time workers access to more hours, and fixing the broken enterprise bargaining system to drive up wages and increase productivity."
