The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) is hugely disappointed the Government has rammed through significant elements of its latest industrial relations changes, despite a Senate inquiry still having weeks to run.
COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat said the Closing Loopholes Bill was the most significant rewrite of workplace laws in recent memory and required proper scrutiny.
“This 800-page package is extremely complex and the government is yet to conduct an analysis of the impact the bill will have on the 2.5 million small businesses in Australia.
“Whilst unanimous agreement existed on issues such as first responders and silicosis, the bundling through of contentious issues regarding labour hire and union entry is an egregious breach of trust and process.
“Why has the government lurked these changes through unless they do not want them debated properly? It appears an admission they are damaging and against the national interest. The only people cheering today are union delegates.”
Mr Achterstraat said small businesses are continuing to lose trust that the government understands or even cares about, pushing additional complexity onto them during a cost-of-living crisis.
“The introduction of new amendments that have not been consulted on or even sighted, only reinforces the uncertainty and complexity this flawed process has created for businesses of all sizes."
“In an already tough operating environment, small businesses will need to spend time, money and limited resources to interpret and understand new obligations, just as they were priming themselves for the Christmas trading season.”
For more information about COSBOA, visit: www.cosboa.org.au
For media enquiries or interviews, please contact COSBOA on ceo@cosboa.org.au or call (+61) 433 644 097
Luke Achterstraat
Chief Executive Officer