The resources industry has congratulated the Coalition Government on its re-election, won largely on plummeting support for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Queensland.
Strong swings were recorded against Labor members and candidates in resources-reliant electorates in both NSW and Queensland with the Coalition likely to secure a majority government.
Adani Mining chief executive Lucas Dow said the election result pointed to Queenslanders wanting the green light for projects such as the Carmichael Coal Project.
“It is a very strong message that supports jobs in regional Queensland and jobs in the resources sector and the need for governments to get behind people that want to work and that want jobs,” he said.
“It’s now time for the Queensland Government to hear that message and to start acting in the best interests of Queenslanders.”
Australian Resources and Energy Group AREEA also congratulated the Scott Morrison-led Coalition on its successful re-election campaign.
“AREEA is delighted the Australian people have voted for aspiration, not the Australian Labor Party/Australian Council of Trade Unions’ phony industrial relations policies aimed at pitting workers against employers,” AREEA Chief Executive Steve Knott said.
“Instead, the community has endorsed a more positive way forward for our nation and our workplaces, rejecting the ACTU’s divisive class warfare rhetoric and false characterisation of our workplaces as being in need of radical change.”
Mr Knott said AREEA will work with the 46th Parliament of Australia to secure the enormous future opportunities for the resources and energy industry.
“On behalf of our members, we will strongly encourage the government to pursue improvements to the workplace relations system,” he said.
“This should start with lifting governance standards and accountability for all employer and union organisations registered under the Fair Work Act, through the passage of the Ensuring Integrity Bill that passed the lower house in the last parliament.
“The re-elected Morrison Government should also legislate for life-of-project enterprise agreements for mega projects, as recommended by the 2015 Productivity Commission’s review of Australia’s workplace relations system, and endorsed by Bill Shorten and the ALP last week.
“In addition, with eight retirements from the Fair Work Commission to come in the next three years, AREEA will encourage the Coalition to continue its track record of appointing well-qualified, hard-working new members with business expertise.”
Outside these priorities, AREEA will also seek broader reform of Australia’s workplace relations system to reflect its members’ future-focused vision.
“AREEA and our members look forward to working with the Coalition on our vision for productive and competitive workplace relations, unleashed through a flexible and future-focused system, safeguarding the industry’s competitiveness in the future global economy,” Mr Knott said.
Other industry groups similarly welcomed the Coalition’s re-election and signalled their intention to begin work immediately on job-creating policies.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in its Getting on With Business election manifesto that it wanted a “dedicated, straightforward enterprise agreement option for small business, which is simple to negotiate, approve, implement and comply with”.
ACCI has also advocated “expanded options for enterprise and individual level agreement making, and for greenfield agreement making, based on agreement between employers and employees.”
The Australian Industry Group called for a refresh of Australia’s “stagnant administration of enterprise bargaining arrangements” and urged to “find ways to inject life into bargaining over workplace productivity”.
For more information on the implications for employers from the 2019 Federal Election, please contact [email protected]
