E&OE.
Oliver Peterson: Joining me now for reaction is the Shadow Attorney General and the Shadow Minister for Employment Senator Michaelia Cash. Good afternoon.
Senator Cash: Great to be with you Oli.
Oliver Peterson: The super profits tax being proposed here by the CFMEU, it’s got the echoes of the mining tax of 2010, doesn’t it?
Senator Cash: Look it’s deja vu all over again. But guess what, Oli? It was a bad idea last time, but this time, it’s even worse. Because the CFMEU are proposing not just a super profit tax on the mining industry, but a super profits tax on all industries. All you can say to that is Labor and their paymasters in the union movement are always in favour of more taxes. They never ever learn.
Oliver Peterson: It’s easy to look at those big miners, the big banks and see there’s dollar signs there but particularly on the resources companies this is very anti WA.
Senator Cash: Oh absolutely. And I have to say I have been waiting all day for now Premier Cook to stand up and call on Mr. Albanese to rule this out immediately because I can assure you a Coalition government under Peter Dutton would never pursue such a tax. And yet Mr. Cook has been suspiciously quiet. All this proposed new tax will do is create uncertainty for investment in Western Australia. But not only that, potentially destroy our mining sector, which is the backbone of our economy. The CFMEU just doesn’t seem to understand the concept of sovereign risk. But not only that, competitive tax settings are central to delivering Australia’s economic recovery. And what do they want to do with a super profits tax? Not just on the mining industry this time? But on all industries.
Oliver Peterson: And all Australians in the end as well Senator Cash because via your superannuation, it’s robbing the retirement savings of Australians.
Senator Cash: If this was to go through absolutely. Higher taxes are ultimately just passed back on to consumers, whether it’s through higher prices, smaller pay packets or a smaller tax base. This is what Labor and the unions fail to understand. These just aren’t faceless organizations. all Australians will be affected by these taxes. But also remember, Mr. Albanese was one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Russ Gillard governments mining tax and carbon tax when he was last in government. So I would call on both the Prime Minister of Australia but also the Premier of Western Australia to rule out immediately what the CFMEU are calling on which is a super profits tax, which will affect private sector investment and that is no way to solve any of Australia’s problems.
Oliver Peterson: How much sway has the construction union got over the Albanese governor? Can you actually see Labor seriously considering this?
Senator Cash: Oh, the construction union in particular, were handed the ABCC, the former Australian Building and Construction Commission on a platter. They have been long calling for the abolition of the tough cop on the beat. And what is one of the first things the Albanese government did they capitulated. And just look at how much money the CFMEU donate to the Labour Party each year. So when I say they are their paymasters, the Labour Party is in bed with the unions, and as we know, they’re always in favour of higher taxes. They never ever learn.
Oliver Peterson: We’ll see whether or not they consider the wish list of the CFMEU because it looks as though your old may Tony Burke is looking at the wish list of the ACTU on the proposed IR changes and putting on your Shadow employment ministers hat for a moment Michaelia Cash – now what’s this loophole that Tony Burke says he’s trying to close because some employees actually like the flexibility of being a casual they don’t want to be a permanent employee.
Senator Cash: Absolutely. There is no loophole. It was the former coalition government that legislated for the first time ever, an actual definition of what is a casual. And do you know why we did that? Because prior to that, nobody seemed to know what a casual was. So we responded to the calls from both employers and employees. And we legislated a definition of casuals to give people certainty that we also for the fifth time ever provided a statutory pathway for casuals to convert to permanent employment if they choose to. And what Tony Burke is proposing to do is to throw out the statutory definition of what is a casual and go back to the bad old days, where employers and employees were completely confused. But again, what’s he really doing is what Sally McManus – she said it yesterday. They would prefer all employment in Australia being permanent employment, and that doesn’t work for the economy. It doesn’t work for employers, and it certainly doesn’t work for employees, but it works for the Labor Party and the union movement, because casual workforces are not unionised, labour higher, they aren’t unionised. You abolish those types of employment, guess what? You move people into permanent forms, and the unions become much happier. So you are absolutely right, Ollie just ticking off another item on the ACTU wish list.
Oliver Peterson: So there is an opportunity obviously at the moment where there was opportunities for casuals to go permanent. Are you any clearer though, on what Tony Burke’s proposing here on how this particular change is going to work when and how a casual employees can go permanent that they have the power in the relationship between employee and employers who obviously rely so heavily on each other or if the employer can refuse because when we had Sally McManus on the program yesterday, she said this would all be taken to the Fair Work Commission. I think the Fair Work Commission is going to be very busy. Senator Cash: The biggest problem with Tony Burke is he is not talking to employers. Employers have been gagged by the Labor government. Ironically, the Labor government that talked about integrity and transparency, they cannot talk about the consultation that they are currently going through on these important bills. So I have no detail Ollie and the one thing I’ve learned about the Labor government is the devil is always in the detail. Tony Burke is creating immense confusion amongst employers across Australia. What labour fails to understand is employers are the job creators of this country. Governments don’t create jobs they merely put in place policy frameworks, and a policy framework that the Albanese Labour government is putting in is merely a list of union demands, but they are doing nothing to help employers in Australia prosper, grow, pay higher wages and create more jobs for Australians.
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