Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Mr SMALL (Forrest) (12:37): Our industrial relations system is failing Australians under this government. The Australia I once knew was a place of hard work that rewarded effort, a place that granted flexibility to workers as well as bosses. Yet we have seen the CFMEU bosses enjoy pay rises of 25 per cent in five years, while construction workers' pay is down five per cent.

That's how sick our system has become, but it is what we have come to expect. When union donations go into the Labor Party, union policy comes straight out. Donations in, policy out, and the only losers are ordinary Australians.

Industrial relations are no longer about fairness; they are about control. We continue to walk away from the principles that underpinned three decades of growth in this country—a simplified industrial relations system that protected and fostered flexibility and created harmonious partnerships between employers and employees. Unfortunately, we've got a government that treats small businesses like ATMs, unions that behave like cartels and super funds that feed the beast.

The people who pay the price for this aren't union bosses—they're small businesses, workers and everyday Australians who are seeing the cost of living increasing while their motivation is disappearing. Why would a hardworking Aussie put in an extra few hours if it simply means this government gets a bigger slice of the pie? The Treasurer is busy splurging the biggest budget take in history, and yet small businesses are being left behind or dying.

Every month they have been in office Labor have added some form of new compliance onto small businesses. The result is businesses face record levels of insolvency and rising costs, and are suffocating under new industrial relations laws. We've already had more insolvencies this financial year as compared to last financial year, even though that was the very worst year on record.

In cafes, on construction sites and in salons and farm sheds across this country, people are losing trust—trust in the idea that, if you work hard and do the right thing, you'll get ahead. Instead, they're feeling punished by paperwork, by rigid and inflexible awards and, in fact, by this government. This isn't just bad economics; it's bad faith, and it runs against our national character.

We understand the reality that small businesses face. Why does this government continue to ignore the reality that family businesses do their accounts around the kitchen table because they don't have the luxury to afford legal teams or a finance department and yet they're drowning in red tape, regulation and restriction? The minister has made it clear that this government is fixated on protecting their cartel mates rather than hardworking Aussies.

Donations in; policy out. When businesses and workers came together recently and were offered a deal to pay staff more, Labor blocked it because their union mates wouldn't get a cut. These unions demand that their rules are adhered to, and this government, as always, complies.

It has nothing to do with the rivers of workers' money being funnelled into the Labor Party through donations, and yet the implications of this are evident. This cartel behaviour is driving up project costs, locking out competition, and it favours union bosses being paid more than ever. Time and time again, it's small businesses and ordinary Australians who are punished, and those in regional electorates like mine even more so.

Let me be clear: we're not anti union, but we are anti union corruption. It should be those who subscribe to the values of the idea of Australia that are cared for, not the union Labor super cartel. The coalition's vision is one of simplification.

We don't want to see those who have a dream suffocated as this government continues to do so. We want a system that is pro worker and pro small business, because when we do well we should all do well together. We must empower those who take risks, apply effort and back themselves, whether they're pulling beers, cutting hair or building new homes.

We all want a prosperous nation where Australians back themselves, so let's reward risk and resilience. The beating heart of Australia is really in small business. Almost one in two workers in Australia are employed in a small business.

And yet, when four in five jobs are being created that are dependent on taxpayer funding in some way, you know that our economy is really crook. And it is really crook because small businesses are dying at a record rate. The coalition will always back practical reforms, reward for effort and the incentive to strive.