Dissenting Report by Coalition Senators
1.1
Coalition Senators do not support the Australian Jobs Bill 2013 and we
write this dissenting report to highlight a number of the subjective claims and
assertions in the majority report with which we do not agree. Coalition
Senators are of the opinion that this legislation is unnecessary, poorly
conceived and like so many other pieces of legislation before this committee
during this term of government, it has been drafted with little stakeholder
consultation. It is a part of a broader policy (or so-called ‘Jobs Plan’) which
lacks credibility and clarity both in intent and the means by which it is being
funded.
1.2
Furthermore, Coalition Senators are not satisfied that the bill is based
on reliable statistics or evidence and agree with the point made in some
submissions, that it is clearly not based on a rigorous cost benefit analysis.
1.3
Among our many specific concerns is also that there is not a
demonstrated need for the establishment of the new government agency, The Australian
Industry Participation Authority (AIPA). Especially when the Government seems
unable to specify exactly how powerful and wide it wants its remit to be in
enforcing compliance and applying penalties. Additionally, the proposed
conditions around the 'trigger date' are confused and point to a limited
understanding of how major projects are conceived and evolve.
1.4
Coalition Senators are concerned that a range of problems will be likely
to accompany the reduction in the financial threshold at which projects will
become subjected to Australian Industry Participation Plan (AIPP) requirements.
Foremost among them are that this change will undoubtedly lead to an explosion
in the number of the AIPPs that need to be produced and reporting requirements
that need to be met. Indeed, it is instructive to note the Chamber of Commerce
and Industry WA's calculation that these changes will mean that the share of
affected projects will rise from approximately 6 to 26.2 per cent.
1.5
Coalition Senators also hold concerns that the bill appears to take no
serious account of the development and history of the existing Australian
Industry Participation (AIP) system, or the progress that has already been made
in a number of the states on increasing local industry participation.
1.6
Whilst Coalition Senators acknowledge that there is widespread support
for the basic principle that Australian firms should receive optimal
opportunities to secure work on local projects, we note this is hardly a new
revelation and is in fact one of the key reasons behind the Coalition's
introduction of the AIP system in 2001. The revisions to the system to which
the bill gives expression are misguided and will compromise rather than enhance
its operation.
1.7
Coalition Senators are of the view that after the proliferation of more
than 20,000 new regulations under the Gillard and Rudd governments, the last
thing Australian industry needs is for another heavy-handed and complex set of
regulations to be imposed. Sensible industry policy should be guided by the goal
of reducing bureaucracy and red tape, not creating a substantial new labyrinth
of it.
1.8
Proposals such as the establishment of the AIPA and the idea that the
Government should seek to embed public servants into private companies'
workforces to shape and perhaps even dictate their purchasing decisions are
anathema to the objective of increasing the international competitiveness of
Australian businesses. They should have no place in 21st century Australia.
1.9
Coalition Senators believe for all of the above reasons, it is not
surprising that far from providing any kind of "broad based support"
as suggested in the majority report, seven of the ten submissions received by
the Committee raised multiple and significant concerns with the content of the
bill.
1.10
Coalition Senators feel it necessary to express our concern that at the
time of writing this report, the Industry Minister, Minister Combet, has
pointedly refused to provide the Shadow Minister, Mrs Mirabella, with a
briefing on the so-called 'Jobs Plan' of which these proposed changes form a
part. Coalition Senators are advised that this is the first occasion during her
time as a Shadow Minister that Mrs Mirabella can recall being refused such a
request.
1.11
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 18 February 2013 that the
Government's plan is also clearly not based on a substantial injection of new
funding, let alone its claimed $1billion funding increase. In reality, its
approach rests on a cut to the ICCSRTE portfolio of approximately $600 million
and it remains highly deceptive and mendacious to pretend otherwise.
1.12
The reticence and/or inability of the Minister and his officials to
provide such information, and meet basic standards of public accountability in
the process, naturally erodes our confidence that the Government can
satisfactorily explain and adequately justify the reasons for its various
proposed changes. As such, Coalition Senators do not support the introduction
of this bill into the Parliament.
Recommendation 1
1.13
Coalition Senators recommend that the Australian Jobs Bill not be passed.
Senator David
Bushby
Deputy Chair
Senator Alan
Eggleston
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