Division
Doug Cameron On behalf of the opposition I rise to oppose the Fair Work Amendment (Respect for Emergency Services Volunteers) Bill 2016. We do this because the legislation is ambiguous, it is unclear and it is imprecise. This legislation was designed to give the coalition a political weapon during an election campaign. That is simply what this bill is about. If you are wondering what the situation is in terms of the proposed enterprise agreement that was the genesis of this bill, all you have to do is go to the words of the CFA chief fire officer, Mr Steve Warrington, who was unequivocal in his view that the proposed EBA would not impact the CFA's firefighting abilities. He stated: I am really confident that, during a firefight, operations will not be compromised. What is this about? The chief fire officer is saying that operations will not be compromised, yet we have heard all of the argument from the Prime Minister, from Minister Cash, in relation to what a terrible thing this agreement would be. Yet the chief fire officer in Victoria said: I am really confident that, during a firefight, operations will not be compromised. Not only is this bill ambiguous, unclear and imprecise; it goes to a number of fundamental issues in terms of both the state legislation and the federal legislation. Every senator in this chamber who truly believes in state rights must vote against this bill. This is clearly an attack on state rights. Every senator who claims to support small government must vote against this bill. Every senator who has argued against government red tape—and there are plenty of them over here—must vote against this bill. Every senator who has argued against undue government interference against individuals and businesses should vote against this bill. Every senator who wants a sensible, sustainable and fair resolution to the Victorian firefighters dispute must vote against this bill. Every senator who wants the focus of all Victorian firefighters, both volunteer
Senate, 2016-10-10. affirmative: ayes 38, noes 33.
Question
Doug Cameron On behalf of the opposition I rise to oppose the Fair Work Amendment (Respect for Emergency Services Volunteers) Bill 2016. We do this because the legislation is ambiguous, it is unclear and it is imprecise. This legislation was designed to give the coalition a political weapon during an election campaign. That is simply what this bill is about. If you are wondering what the situation is in terms of the proposed enterprise agreement that was the genesis of this bill, all you have to do is go to the words of the CFA chief fire officer, Mr Steve Warrington, who was unequivocal in his view that the proposed EBA would not impact the CFA's firefighting abilities. He stated: I am really confident that, during a firefight, operations will not be compromised. What is this about? The chief fire officer is saying that operations will not be compromised, yet we have heard all of the argument from the Prime Minister, from Minister Cash, in relation to what a terrible thing this agreement would be. Yet the chief fire officer in Victoria said: I am really confident that, during a firefight, operations will not be compromised. Not only is this bill ambiguous, unclear and imprecise; it goes to a number of fundamental issues in terms of both the state legislation and the federal legislation. Every senator in this chamber who truly believes in state rights must vote against this bill. This is clearly an attack on state rights. Every senator who claims to support small government must vote against this bill. Every senator who has argued against government red tape—and there are plenty of them over here—must vote against this bill. Every senator who has argued against undue government interference against individuals and businesses should vote against this bill. Every senator who wants a sensible, sustainable and fair resolution to the Victorian firefighters dispute must vote against this bill. Every senator who wants the focus of all Victorian firefighters, both volunteer
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