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Another matter the COALition government is readying itself to tackle is industrial relations/labour laws. Unlike the “Morrison” tax cuts -- virtually their only proposal -- they never said a word about IR in the election campaign. In fact and to the best of my knowledge, with the partial exception of Georgina Downer, Liberal candidate for the seat of Mayo (South Australia), the COALition carefully avoided that subject. (It was a sensible decision, too: Downer lost to Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie.)
Realistically, the COALition never needed an excuse to attack unions and the livelihoods of Australian workers. I won’t mention recent police raids on union premises (leaked to the media), or cuts in penalties rates, or the punitive way the NewStart Allowance is dished, or the extortion known as robo-debt. Instead, for overseas readers’ benefit or to refresh local readers’ memory, I’ll give just one example from the last 4 years: the 2014-15 Heydon
After nearly two years of hearings; after the Commissioner (incidentally, invited to deliver a lecture to a Liberal fund-raiser) alleged to have found evidence of illegality in nine unions; after recommending criminal charges against some 50 unionists for their “wilful defiance of the law”; after arrests being carried out; after all the resources being poured liberally into the enquiry -- from money to the thousands of men-hour by barristers, prosecutors, judges, detectives and clerks involved in one stage or another of the process -- Commonwealth and State DPPs found grounds for only six prosecutions, in five of which either charges were dropped before trial or the accused were found not guilty. One conviction was registered. Yes, you read that right: 1. Compare that with the more recent but in its own way equally farcical Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
(Incidentally, I would have thought that that pathological, obsessive ill will of the COALition towards certain classes qualifies as class warfare if not almost judicial terrorism -- as that applied recently to the media -- but I’m no expert. In Australia experts reserve “class warfare” to anything going against that. We are the antipodeans, after all).
Anyway, given those antecedents, is unsurprising that Morrison and his clique would have taken advantage of the John Setka affair.
Note to overseas readers: Rumour had it that Setka, CFMEU-VIC Construction Division secretary, allegedly made misogynistic comments about a prominent Australian campaigner against domestic violence. Whether that hearsay was true or not, I can’t say. Setka himself categorically denies those allegations. Such details, however, soon became irrelevant (believe it or not), for automatically everybody and their dog jumped to demand Setka’s head in a silver plate, newly-minted Labor federal leader Anthony Albanese included.
Setka refused to step down from his job and threatened to cut CFMEU donations to Labor. Moreover, when Setka’s CFMEU colleagues, claiming to be witnesses of the event, denied his guilt, the condemnation was extended from Setka’s person to the whole CFMEU. After all, as every Aussie expert knows, all CFMEU types (if not all trade unionists) are “thugs” and that Sally McManus, ACTU secretary, asked Setka to resign even if he were innocent, for the good of the trade union movement makes no difference before the public.
You have to give Morrison this: he knows how to seize an opportunity when he sees it. He immediately proceeded to resurrect the so-called Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill which did not pass when it was first presented in 2017.
When it was read in Parliament, back then, the COALition took pains to misrepresent the bill as meant “to ensure that unions, employer associations and their officials act with integrity”. See the “employer associations” there? You’ll find it 7 times more in that little speech.
The Setka affair made mendacity unnecessary. This is how Christian Porter (the same bloke who gave us Robo-Debt), now federal Minister for Industrial Relations, put it a few days ago:
“Ultimately, that requires that union [CFMEU] to be deregistered, and we think there should be appropriate tools available [the Ensuring Integrity Bill] for a responsible government to deregister a union that reaches the heights of unlawfulness that the CFMEU has.”Unlike in 2017, it turns out, that bill now (1) has a specific target, (2) no bullshit reference to “employer association” was anywhere to be found, and (3) in Australia now it’s unlawful to be a jerk, a loudmouth asshole, which, at worse, is what Setka is being accused of.
From Setka the shit hit the CFMEU and now the whole trade union movement.
But it doesn’t end there. Porter was put in charge of reviewing IR. But that ain’t no class warfare.
So, CFMEU-QLD, Mining Division comrades, you blokes went public in support of Adani, didn’t you? No class warfare for you, cause you and the “job creators” are besties. I’m sure Adani will lobby against your deregistration.
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I suppose that answers Sally McManus’ letter to Scott Morrison offering to work with the Government. That’s the same answer Malcolm Turnbull gave to a similar initiative back in 2017.
Mind you, that ain’t no class warfare.
Incidentally, McManus has been facing criticism from the likes of Tim Kennedy, the National Union of Workers national secretary, because in their opinion unions have no business with politics. That’s class warfare, eh Timbo?
Too bad the COALition doesn’t know that. I don’t envy McManus. One must have the patience of Job to deal with cretins.
I have none.
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Tomorrow is July the 1st and you kiddies (and everyone else on lousy wages) know what that means, don’t you? Okay, maybe you don’t: Tomorrow you’ll enjoy new wage cuts (see the opening photo). Ain’t that great? As tomorrow the new minimum wage also applies, you better check your payslips very carefully or your bosses will steal even your shirt.
Check the Young Workers Centre website. It contains some useful info.
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To close, Annabel Crabb was hosting Insiders today. She did a very good job, as usual. I wish she would take that job on a permanent basis.
Anyway, her guests were Annika Smethurst and Niki Savva (News Corp) and Laura Tingle (ABC). The main topics were Morrison in the G20 Osaka meeting, the Peter Dutton/Malcolm Turnbull feud, and Smethurst’s AFP adventure.
Crabb interviewed Ichabod Crane (Sleepy Hollow Disney version) lookalike Senator Simon Birmingham. Birmo gave Albo his best, most disinterested advice: for its own good, Labor must support the COALition next week and approve the ScoMo tax cuts in Parliament. Otherwise a “stain” will besmirch Labor.
So, Labor should jump in bed with the COALition just like the CFMEU Queensland, Mining Division did with Adani.
Note that the COALition doesn’t need Labor support: with 77 MPs, they have majority in the Lower House, full stop; in the Senate, with 35 senators the COALition only needs to make nice with Pauline “One Nation” Hanson and the Centre Alliance to score. They have Cory Bernardi’s vote for good measure. All that insistence is out of the goodness of their hearts.
There’s nothing less class warfare than that bipartisanship thing. And it sure seems to be working just fine with the CFMEU, what could go wrong?
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