QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:16): I thank the member for Gorton for her question. Yesterday, our world-leading protections for Australia's gig economy workers came into force—a source of great pride for those on this side of the House—delivering real change for thousands of working people. These are people who, by definition, don't have a lot of power in their workplaces.
The people who are delivering food or delivering products to someone's door contribute to making life easier for Australians, but they don't have a great deal of industrial power. What it took was a government prepared to act on their behalf. Minimum standards and minimum wages—protecting the Australian way of a fair day's wage for a fair day's work—is something that Labor has fought for since 1891.
The fact is that our economy has changed. There are great benefits for Australians in getting things delivered right to your door, and that flexibility is a good thing. But just because jobs and industries change and adapt, that doesn't mean that working people deserve less protection or lower wages, because, when change happens, it's up to us to shape it for the better.
For too long, delivery drivers in the gig economy fell through the cracks—no fair pay, no sick leave, no basic protections—and that happened because of those loopholes. Put simply, at times, it not only wasn't fair; it was outright dangerous, because we know of examples of delivery drivers who've lost their lives because they're trying to get from A to B in 15 minutes for something that should take 25 or 30.
Taking risks and literally losing their lives is what has occurred. That's why we passed this closing loopholes legislation—to make sure that every worker gets a fair go. Whilst we fought for and delivered that change, those opposite, the Liberals and the Nationals, did everything they could to stop it.
They voted against the legislation. They argued against the decision. They said reforming the industry was just too complicated.
They chose to ignore the problem, and then they argued against fairness. That is their playbook. Labor chooses a different path.
We choose to act. We choose to back working people, and we choose to deliver real change.