Article by Kimberly Caines courtesy of the West Australian.
Labor’s signature industrial relations legislation will not pass Federal Parliament this year in a major blow to the Government.
WA Liberal MPs led the charge to team up with the Senate crossbench to push out the reporting date of an inquiry into the laws that would close labour hire loopholes to February 1.
WA Liberal senator Matt O’Sullivan told The West Australian the inquiry would now be able to travel around the country to hear from affected businesses, particularly in the State.
“We know that the Bill does have a disproportionate impact on the resource companies in particular,” he said. “It’s particularly those . . . using services companies to support their operations and we know that many West Australians are working in that space — both small and medium-sized businesses.”
The laws are aimed at ending exploitative practices, such as companies using labour-hire workers to undercut the rate of pay agreed for employees.
They also seek to criminalise wage theft and bolster protections for gig workers.
Top companies had warned the industrial relations shakeup would drive up costs for business and lead to thousands of workers losing their jobs.
Labor wanted laws in place by Christmas and the inquiry to report in November.
Shadow workplace relations minister Michaelia Cash said Labor had an “embarrassing loss”. “If you were given 800 pages of complex legislation that was going to affect your business, would you not ask the Government to actually give this chamber the opportunity to properly scrutinise it?” she said.