BILL DRAFTING – AUSTRALIA

Greens, Libs to play tough on CFMEU

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Aug-24

The Coalition contends that the federal government’s bill to appoint administrators to the CFMEU’s state construction divisions is "weak" and should be referred to a Senate committee. The Greens will in turn decide their position regarding the proposed legislation on Tuesday, and expressed concern that it overrides the court process. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt argues that forcing the bill to be scrutinised by a Senate inquiry would demonstrate that the Coalition is not serious about addressing the "criminality, bullying and thuggery" within the CFMEU. The Coalition has committed to deregistering the union if it wins the next election, although Watt believes that administration is a more practical option.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Powerful new laws to break up the CFMEU

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Original article by Jade Gailberger
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 3-Jul-24

The Senate has voted 46-10 to pass a bill which will allow the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to hold a ballot on demerging. The Greens voted against the bill, which had been fast-tracked in response to threats by the CFMEU’s Victorian state secretary John Setka to launch a "work to rule" campaign on future AFL-related construction projects unless the league sacks its head of umpiring, Stephen McBurney. However, shadow employment minister Michaelia Cash has described the legislation as a "minor slap on the wrist" to the CFMEU in response to Setka’s "outrageous bullying demands".

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

CFMEU condemns ALP’s demerge laws

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Jun-24

Federal government legislation that will allow the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to demerge is expected to be passed by the Senate with the Coalition’s support. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says many members of the division do not feel properly represented by the CFMEU, including workers in female-dominated industries such as textiles. However, the CFMEU’s national secretary Zach Smith has doubled down on his warning that the proposed laws would set a dangerous precedent that could be used by a future government to break up unions.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Vapes to be sold behind the counter under watered-down ban

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Original article by Paul Sakkal, Natassia Chrysanthos
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 25-Jun-24

The federal government has been criticised for abandoning its plans to make e-cigarettes available only with a doctor’s prescription. Labor has agreed to the Greens’ proposed amendments to its legislation on nicotine vaping products, which will now be available to buy at pharmacies without a prescription. Health Minister Mark Butler says the new laws will protect young Australians and the broader community from the harms of recreational vaping. However, the Coalition has described the amendments as a "backdown", while the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has urged the Senate to reject the revised legislation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH AND AGED CARE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE PHARMACY GUILD OF AUSTRALIA

Labor moves to break up CFMEU after Setka stoush

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Jun-24

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will introduce a bill to parliament next week to enable the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to demerge. The proposed legislation will allow the division to apply to the Fair Work Commission to leave the construction-dominated CFMEU. The federal government has been prompted to push ahead with the bill in response to demands from the CFMEU’s Victorian state secretary John Setka for the AFL to sack its head of umpiring due to his former role as head of the defunct Australian Building & Construction Commission. The CFMEU’s mining division has previously demerged to form its own union.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

MPs fight to force shops to take cash

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 4-Jun-24

Cash is now used in just 13 per cent of all transactions in which money changes hands, compared with about 70 per cent in 2007. The pandemic accelerated Australia’s shift to a cashless society, but independent MP Andrew Gee has introduced a private member’s bill that would impose a $25,000 fine on businesses that refuse to accept cash payments of less than $10,000; individuals would be fined up to $5,000. Gee’s bill has the support of fellow independents such as Bob Katter and Dai Le; however, federal parliament has passed only 30 private member’s bills since Federation in 1901.

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Tough visa rules to ban countries

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Mar-24

The House of Representatives has passed legislation that targets failed asylum-seekers who refuse to co-operate with immigration authorities regarding their removal from Australia. The legislation allows them to be jailed for up to five years and specifies that fears of persecution if they are returned to their home country will not be regarded as a reasonable excuse for their lack of co-operation. The government will also have the power to block visa applications from all citizens of countries that refuse to refuse to accept the return of failed asylum seekers. The legislation was passed with the support of the Coalition, although it has forced Labor to agree to a Senate inquiry into the bill.

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Independents move to ban mega donations in far-reaching political transparency overhaul

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Mar-24

Political donations of more than $1.5 million would be banned under the fair and transparent elections bill, which is being tabled by crossbench and independent MPs in both houses of federal parliament. The bill also calls for a ban on donations from socially harmful industries such as the fossil fuel sector and for ‘truth-in-political advertising’. It further calls for the donation disclosure threshold to be lowered to $1,000, but it does not support a recommendation from the electoral matters committee to cap spending on elections, due to concerns that this could effectively entrench the two major parties.

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Shambolic right to disconnect fix

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Feb-24

The federal government was criticised over its failure to consult with employers’ groups regarding the ‘right to disconnect’ provisions of its latest industrial relations reforms. Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has attracted further criticism for belatedly consulting with employers with regard to the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2024, which is intended to remove criminal penalties for employers who breach the right to disconnect. The haste with which the Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2 was pushed through parliament resulted in the criminal penalties inadvertently being left in the legislation.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Staff disconnects from Tony Burke’s own office

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Feb-24

The Department of Employment & Workplace Relations has disclosed that 36 per cent of its employees had an approved working from home arrangement at the end of October 2023. However, an Australian Public Service employee census survey shows that 72 per cent of the department’s staff had worked remotely at some point during 2023, including on an informal or ad hoc basis. The release of this data has coincided with the federal government’s push to introduce a legislated right for employees to ‘disconnect’ from their workplace outside of their designated working hours. Meanwhile, some 57 per cent of employees across the public service who completed the survey had access to working from home arrangements in 2023, compared with 46 per cent in 2021.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS