It has long been Greens policy to have federal laws on industrial manslaughter and to have them in the Crimes Act so that employers can be held accountable for the tragic loss of hundreds of lives on worksites around Australia. The current patchwork, really, of state and territory laws does not protect workers. I sat on this inquiry, and we heard devastating stories. In many cases the inquest takes so long that the statute of limitations expires, so no-one is held accountable. The system is definitely failing.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt said today’s jobs figures reveal a jobs crisis in Australia, especially amongst young people, and underscore the need for urgent government intervention to provide meaningful, secure work in a climate-challenged economy.

“These figures reveal a government with no plan to create meaningful work for young people in a climate-challenged economy,” said Mr Bandt.

“Nearly one in three young people either doesn’t have a job or doesn’t have enough hours of work. It’s a national scandal.”

The Greens are calling for a Royal Commission to fully investigate the extent of wage theft and below-award payment in Australia following reports today that Coles underpaid its staff by almost $20 million dollars, said Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP.

"Once again, we've seen that failings in our industrial laws are allowing some of Australia's biggest companies to pay workers at below award rates," said Mr Bandt.

The Greens have made it very clear that we oppose this bill. We don't like this bill at all. That's because this bill is a clear attack on workers and on unions and their members. This bill is a political and ideological attack on unions and their members and also the ability for unions and their members to work for the good of working people and for a fair and just society for everyone. This bill is anti-democratic, and that's why the Greens strongly oppose this bill.

Tuesday, 5th November 2019

Australian Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John said he was extremely disappointed at evidence given by the Queensland Teachers' Union President, Kevin Bates, during this morning’s Disability Royal Commission hearing.

“I was absolutely shocked to hear Mr Bates confirm that the Queensland Teachers Union support the segregation of disabled children into ‘special schools’ and would be supportive of building new segregated schools in Queensland, contrary to the inclusive education policy of the Queensland Government,” Steele-John said.

I rise on behalf of the Greens to make a short statement on the disallowance of the Fair Work Amendment (Casual Loading Offset) Regulations 2018. We all know that casualisation is up. We know that rising job insecurity is stretching people to breaking point. Working people are under attack like never before. They now have less certainty and fewer rights at work than at any time in recent history. Let me be blunt: insecure work is wrecking people's lives, yet this government is only about protecting big business.

Today's weak economic figures reveal an economy that is spluttering and directionless under a Coalition Government whose plans are nothing more than the same old discredited trickle-down nonsense. That's why the Greens are calling today for the Government to adopt a Green Stimulus package, said Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale.

"The growth figures released today prove what has been clear to so many of us for so long: this Government's lame old trickle-down approach to the economy is a flop and they have no plan to fix it," Di Natale said.

Greens welcome Labor’s wage theft commitment, urge more action from Labor on minimum wage