CLOSING LOOPHOLES BILL PASSES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Australia is one step closer to stopping the underpayment of workers, after the Albanese Labor Government’s Closing Loopholes Bill passed the House of Representatives today.

This Bill closes the loopholes that certain employers use to undercut wages, conditions and safety for Australian workers.

We know that many Australians are doing it tough right now dealing with the cost of living.

It’s why we’re doing everything we can to get wages moving, to help deal with that.

Wages growth came in at 4 per cent in the September quarter – the highest quarterly growth in the 26-year history of the Wage Price Index 

This Government was elected to get wages moving again, and that’s what we’re doing – but there’s more to be done.

Peter Dutton and the Coalition had a chance to vote for wage increases today.

Instead they voted “No” – as they always do.

Peter Dutton and the Coalition have now voted 27 times this term to keep wages low.

They spent a decade in government deliberately keeping wages low – confessing it was a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture.

They might be in Opposition now, but they still can’t kick the habit.

Today Peter Dutton and the Coalition voted “No” to:

  • Criminalising wage theft

  • Introducing minimum standards for workers in the gig economy

  • Closing the forced permanent casual loophole

  • Closing the labour hire loophole

The Coalition do have another opportunity to stop the underpayment of these workers by supporting the legislation in the Senate.

ENDS

Tony Burke