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Gavin Marshall, Senator for Victoria
First Speech 21/8/2002 Through you, Mr President, I would like to thank the Senate for this
opportunity to make my first speech. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge that
we stand on the land of the Ngunnawal people. It is appropriate that I,
we as a parliament and the nation as a whole acknowledge and pay respect
to over 20,000 years of custodianship.
I am privileged to represent the people of Victoria, and I express my
sincere gratitude to its voters for allowing me the opportunity to represent
them in this parliament. I will seek to do this with much vigour and passion
over my time here. My election to the Senate has been the result of a
great deal of hard work, loyalty and support on behalf of a number of
individuals and organisations around me, many of whom are in the gallery
here today. To each and all of you, I am immensely grateful, as my presence
here would not have been possible without you all.
Like many senators and members at the last sitting of our parliament,
I would like to pay special respect to my predecessor, former Senator
Barney Cooney. Barney's commitment to humanitarianism and civil liberties
in this parliament is worthy of great praise. Barney served the people
of Victoria and Australia in this place with great dignity and respect,
something unusually noted by both sides of this house. His dedication
to the rights of all people from all lands as well as promoting Australia's
responsibilities in an ever-changing world by upholding its various international
treaties and conventions was unwavering. Barney has been an inspiration
to many in our party, including myself, and I am sure that he will continue
to remain so. I congratulate him on his 18-year Senate term, thank him
for his sound advice and wish him every success with his future endeavours.
I would also like to thank the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor
Party for its support. I am honoured to represent and promote Labor principles
in this place, as society's need for equity has never been more important
than now. The Australian Labor Party's long and esteemed history has stoutly
advocated the needs of the less privileged in our society for over 100
years. My commitment to Labor's principles has been shaped by my life's
experiences. My political socialisation began, like most, in the family
home. I was born and raised in Melbourne's northern suburb of Reservoir
and joined the Labor Party in 1977 as a young and inspired son of working
class parents, who instilled within me a strong value system based on
fairness, honesty and hard work. My ALP membership, like that of many
of my colleagues, was fundamentally motivated by Gough Whitlam's progressive
agenda and his government's commitment to social equity and providing
opportunities for all.
During my electrical apprenticeship at the Victorian Railways I became
active as a trade unionist and involved with the union movement's constant
struggle to bring about a fairer deal for all workers. The people of this
movement strengthened my belief in the fundamental principles of Labor:
fairness, equity and social justice for all. The Australian Labor Party's
inherent relationship with the trade union movement is a connection I
am proud to recognise and promote. Our shared values are fundamentally
democratic and collective. We stand for the right of ordinary people,
those who have neither wealth nor power, to a fair go, to be treated with
dignity and respect and for each and every Australian to be valued as
a member of our community.
Having been an active unionist throughout my career as an A-grade electrician,
I was elected as a Victorian branch official with the Electrical Trades
Union in 1991—a position I am proud and honoured to have held. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the ETU and its many fine
members who I had pleasure to work with during my tenure there. Particularly
I must make mention of the officials that work passionately to educate,
advocate and negotiate on behalf of our unions 18,000 strong membership.
Unions are not fortresses for their officials—as this government
chooses to perpetuate. They are democratic organisations that, through
collective participation, strive for collective gains for Australian workers.
They only exist with the active participation of workers and their families.
This is why they have survived conservative attacks over the last 150
years and why they will thrive and adjust to the next 150 years.
Amid the current economic rationalist tide it is so easy to forget just
how important trade unions have been, and are, to Australia. Australian
unionists built the living standards most Australians enjoy today including
wage levels, weekends, holidays, safety regulations, superannuation and
much more. Even more significant, Australian unions and Australian unionists
ingrained a fair go into the Australian lexicon, something every Australian
accepts is now part of our national character. It is that fundamental
value promoted by union members that gives Australians pride, the strength
to stand up for themselves and a confidence that their opinion matters.
In short, I believe Australian unions and unionists are part of the moral
bedrock of this country and I think it is high time that this was acknowledged.
I would now like to comment on the current royal commission being undertaken
into the building industry, which I believe is a politically motivated
witchhunt and a remarkable drain on the nation's resources. This particular
royal commission has a budget of $60 million to use in the course of its
investigation of which $660,000 has been allocated to the salary of Commissioner
Cole alone—more than double that entitled annually by the Prime Minister
himself. To put $60 million into perspective, it is more than twice the
amount allocated to the inquiry into the HIH collapse, more than three
times this year's funding of the National Occupation Health and Safety
Commission, and it is equivalent to the funding of over 5,200 university
placements based on the government's current higher education funding
model.
Since August last year the commission has purported to be investigating
all issues of concern within the building industry. Yet it seems quite
apparent to me it has almost exclusively wasted time and an exorbitant
amount of taxpayer funds desperately trying to uncover non-existent union
corruption in the building industry. As a consequence, the No. 1 issue
affecting construction workers themselves, their workplace safety, has
been de-prioritised and hardly seems to be of any concern to the commission
at all.
Over the 1999-2000 financial year compensation was claimed for 28 construction
workers who lost their lives at work. Non-fatal injuries within the construction
industry totalled just under 12,000 cases and at least 132,000 working
weeks were lost to workplace injury in that year alone. Therefore the
building industry's occupational health and safety record, I believe,
should have been the number one matter for investigation on the commission's
agenda. While we know the royal commission has failed to adequately attend
to the issues of workplace death and injury, the Bracks Labor government
ought to be congratulated on its attempts to legislate around these issues
in Victoria.
Its introduction of a host of stringent workplace safety bills into the
Victorian parliament, including sensible industrial manslaughter legislation,
articulates Labor's commitment to workplace safety and the bold nature
of that government in this field. In contrast, the Liberal-National coalition
in Victoria has reconfirmed its indifference to the safety of ordinary
working Australians by defeating these legislative measures in the Victorian
upper house. Conservative political parties in this country ignore the
issues identified by Australian workers as needing redress and, instead,
seek to dismantle structures that protect and afford workers rights.
While some in our communities have prospered and will continue to prosper,
it must be recognised that not all Australians and regions have shared
equally in the benefits delivered by the technological and economic expansion
of the past two decades. While many companies and their executives make
huge annual profits, the divide between rich and poor in our communities
constantly widens. The ever increasing flexibility required of workers
in the labour force today means many people are struggling to balance
work and family life. This issue—the effect of work on the lives
of Australians—has been a focal point of national discourse over
the parliamentary winter recess. Paid maternity leave and the effect of
excessive working hours on family life have been the central themes.
At present, Australia lags behind most countries in the developed world
in its support for working families, particularly with respect to the
provision of paid maternity leave for working mothers. In fact, Australia
and the USA are the only two OECD countries that do not have a paid maternity
leave system in operation. Paid maternity leave recognises the social
significance of maternity as well as the loss of income sustained by women
that take on family responsibilities. It protects the significant capital
invested by society in the education and training of women and supports
the health and welfare of mothers and newborn children. Australian women,
and moreover the country, need supportive maternity policies that recognise
the evolving nature of the Australian work force and the needs of Australian
families. I look forward to working towards the adoption of a national
paid maternity leave scheme as part of Labor's agenda for this term of
parliament.
While such a scheme would offer support for families with new babies,
the issue of excessive working hours must also be addressed with a family
friendly focus. Over the past two decades, the number of Australians working
excessive hours has increased significantly. Over 2½ million
people work overtime on a regular basis and, of these people, around one-third
are working more than 60 hours per week. In comparison with other OECD
countries, Australia has more people working more hours than any other
member country except for South Korea, and even in South Korea that rate
is declining whereas in Australia it continues to rise. Australia's average
working hours have increased since 1982 by a rate of 3.7 hours a week,
which is equivalent to over half a million full-time jobs. Australia's
unemployment rate, which currently stands at 620,000, could be significantly
improved if the government regulated overtime hours and encouraged a system
that enabled a greater number of workers to more fairly share the work
burden.
Over the last decade, several initiatives addressing extended working
hours have been implemented overseas. One of the most significant initiatives
implemented has been the European Community Directive on Working Time.
This legislation limits hours of work to an average of 48 hours per week
and in France that threshold has been lowered to 35 hours per week. Might
I say, Mr President, that when this change was first mooted in France
there was a gaggle of vested interests who claimed that the sky would
fall in, that unemployment would shoot up and that the economy would be
devastated. But what has happened so far in actual fact? In the four years
from 1997 to 2000, 1.6 million civilian jobs were created in France, including
half a million in the year 2000 alone. The unemployment rate has steadily
declined there by about one per cent per year since it peaked in June
1997 and the result in 2000 was its most outstanding of the 20th century.
The 35-hour week accounted for between 150,000 to 200,000 new jobs created
during this time, and it is expected that this will continue. Australia
should follow Europe's lead in trading excessive working hours for more
jobs and a greater ability for more individuals to maximise their time
in their communities and for families to maximise their time together.
There is little doubt that the social fabric of our communities is eroded
by excessive working hours and that it is the responsibility of people
like us in this place to introduce legislative measures that will protect
local communities and their identities and enable greater participation
within them. This is one of the great achievable social goals within our
reach. Such a change will do more to promote a sense of community and
family value than any other initiative before us. I look forward to playing
a role in establishing restrictions on hours of work and in turn working
to reduce the excessive work burden that far too many Australians currently
undertake. In doing this, I look even further down the track to our nation
prospering from a more socially fulfilled and productive work force. I
look forward to a Labor government that will actively pursue this goal.
In speaking about policies that seek to set in place the long-term prosperity
of the nation, it would be foolish of me to fail to comment on the current
review being undertaken in the country's higher education sector. As a
parent myself, I join with all fair-minded people that hold a genuine
concern about the future direction of this country and in fearing an education
system and a society that embraces the notion that students or their families
should pay up to $100,000 or more to obtain a degree from an Australian
university. I reject a system that rewards class, privilege and wealth
over ability, opportunity and equality. As a socialist, I believe education
is a fundamental right that all people should have the opportunity to
receive. It is an ingredient that all in our society are richer for and,
in turn, it is the responsibility of all in our society to fund and control
it. It is the basis for all invention, innovation, research development
and leading social theory in our society. It is the key to equality, opportunity
and prosperity.
It is symptomatic of a system gone wrong that, in an advanced Western
country, Australia fails to have one single university recognised in the
world's top 100. This is a statistic that must be improved or the social
and economic wellbeing of our country will severely suffer. The course
down which this government wants to take higher education is a dangerous
one and frightening for those with a genuine concern for the future of
this country. If the government chooses to subject education to open market
forces, I fear our society will pay deeply for it many times over into
the future. Now is the time for Australians to seriously consider what
sort of future we want for this country. Do we want a highly skilled,
highly prosperous nation that is innovative, productive and tolerant or
do we want one that is ignorant, fearful and poor? There is little doubt
in my mind that the future of higher education is fundamental to the answer
to this question.
In closing this afternoon, I would like to congratulate my fellow colleagues
who, like myself, began their Senate terms on 1 July. I wish you all the
very best with your parliamentary careers and I look forward to working
closely with you all as we strive to build a better Australia. I say this
hoping that during the time we are here our people have, and seize, another
opportunity to take the next natural step in the evolution of our democracy
so that Australia finally becomes a republic and an Australian rightfully
assumes the role of head of state. I look forward to this monumental occasion.
I would like to thank the staff of the parliament, particularly the Senate
staff, for their help over the past months. I look forward to working
with them into the future. I would also like to thank my electorate staff,
Nathan Murphy, Helen McMurtry and Chris McDermott, for their support and
I look forward to the many challenges that lie ahead of us.
Finally this afternoon I need to acknowledge the love, support and tolerance
I share with my family: Bronwyn, who is not only my wife but also my best
friend; my two beautiful boys—Caelum, who is six, and Kynan, who
is two; Ron and Mavis, my parents; and my mother-in-law, Kathleen. They
are all here today and it is with the greatest of family pride that I
stand here in the Senate before them. Thank you, Mr President, and thank
you, fellow senators.
Honourable senators—Hear, hear!
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