WORK CHOICES FAN MIRABELLA STARTS AT FAIR WORK

Australian workers beware: former Liberal MP and passionate defender of Work Choices, Sophie Mirabella, starts her plum $388,000-a-year job for life at the Fair Work Commission this week.

Christian Porter appointed Ms Mirabella to the role of as one of his last acts in the industrial relations portfolio – and Michaela Cash publicly announced the appointment shortly after she replaced him.

For eight long years now the Liberals have been stacking the Commission with employers and conservative ideologues so workers have less of a voice. But this is the first time they have made a blatantly political appointment of one of their Liberal parliamentary mates.

So from tomorrow, one of the least conciliatory people to ever come through the Federal Parliament will be in charge of conciliation for every workplace in the country. That should send a chill down every workers’ spine.

A person who happily stood in front of the “Ditch the Witch” signs outside Parliament ten years ago. A person who campaigned outside Labor MP’s offices using a coffin as a prop. A person who described John Howard’s Work Choices as “big but fair” and “significant and necessary” will be paid more than $5 million of taxpayers’ money over the next 13 years to oversee Australia’s workplaces.

For the Fair Work Commission to function as intended there needs to be balance of employer and employee representatives. An Albanese Labor Government will restore balance so the Commission looks after workers.

SUNDAY, 23 MAY 2021