The Albanese government’s controversial workplace relations overhaul will face a last-minute hearing on Tuesday as the opposition continues to woo key crossbenchers to kill the bill.
The Fair Work Commission and the Employment and Workplace Relations department will front the bill’s Senate inquiry before the report into the industrial relations bill is handed down later on Tuesday.
It’s believed key crossbenchers – including independent ACT senator David Pocock – will grill them on what impact multi-employer bargaining will have on Australian workforces amid fears it will cause a rise in industrial action.
The government wants to pass it before Christmas but that will require the support of at least one Senate crossbencher, with Senator Pocock appearing the most likely candidate.
But Senator Pocock, who has claimed to have had positive engagement with Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, says he still couldn’t support the bill in its current form and admitted the rushed process was a concern.
“The process is still unfolding as they’re trying to get this through,” he told the ABC.
“It’s been so rushed, and I’m worried that we won’t have the time to work through all the concerns that people have raised so we can get this right.”
Senator Pocock admitted small businesses were struggling to grasp the immense changes being proposed.
“This is a massive omnibus bill, there’s 23 different things it’s seeking to do, there’s a lot of moving parts and we’ve got to get it right,” he said.
One proposed amendment would see the number of employees that defines a small business lifted from less than 15 to less than 200, which deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley admitted would make the bill slightly more palatable.
But the coalition remains strongly opposed and called on the Senate to cull the bill in its entirety.
“This radical, extreme industrial relations legislation will hit small businesses in every corner of the country with no area immune,” she told reporters.
“There is no way Labor could have got this legislation through via the front door at an election, so they’re pushing it through the back door, rushing it through the parliament, showing everyday Australians where their priorities really are.”
By Alex Mitchell in Canberra
