Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (11:12): I speak in support of the Industrial Relations Amendment (Contracts of Carriage) Bill 2018 introduced by my colleague the member for Campbelltown. I take this opportunity to thank him and the shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, the Hon. Adam Searle, MLC, for their advocacy on behalf of contract drivers delivering bread, milk and cream to access an arbitration system that can make contract determinations that reflect common industry standards and provides an independent dispute resolution process.

I note the Treasurer's reasons for not supporting what I regard as a very good bill to ensure that contract drivers delivering bread, milk and cream have access to the industrial relations system, stating that it would be void. I have received advice that this is not the case. If the argument is that it would be void, then essentially it would be void for every other contract driver who is currently accessing the New South Wales industrial relations system. As we know, that is not the case. I make the point that if the Treasurer and the Government believe it would be void, the only way to test it on behalf of families and drivers is to put it to the Parliament and take the next step. Obviously the Treasurer's advice and mine differ and, in fairness to those drivers, the matter can be resolved only by the legal arbitration system.

Former Prime Minister and great Labor hero E. G. Whitlam always said the overarching principle of contemporary relevance is the main driver in public policy. Section 309 (4) (d) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 is neither contemporary nor relevant in 2018. This section differentiates contracted drivers purely based on three essential household items and does not give them any avenue of recourse during contractual disputes. The market conditions between delivery drivers and producers of bread, milk and cream have changed substantially yet our laws have not changed to reflect modern times. There is no consistency in contractual determinations within the bread, milk and cream or other comparative sectors with similar, or indeed identical, operating structures.

Essential household items like bread, milk and cream are now produced by mass production operations run by major national and multinational corporations. The concentration in production leads to a greater concentration in oligopolistic market power that then influences market behaviour and pricing between buyers and sellers. Often the negotiated contractual terms come at the detriment of the party with the weaker bargaining position. A corporation like George Weston Foods—which is a subsidiary of British giant Associated British Foods—owns Tip Top and other bread brands in the Australian market. It is a major player in the bread industry, with substantial market powers. The latest annual report for Associated British Foods shows its group revenue at more than £15 billion. That is more than $A26 billion at the current foreign exchange rate. The power imbalance between a multibillion-dollar multinational and a sole operator contract driver is as clear as day. This might be free trade but it certainly is not fair trade.

It is inconceivable for a sole contract driver with no or very limited bargaining power to negotiate contracts that reflect their business condition or industry standards when pitted against multinational corporations with all the market power. We all know how the negotiation scenario unfolds, with mum-and-dad small businesses versus listed billion-dollar corporate behemoths. It is just WorkChoices in action. We were all promised that WorkChoices was dead, buried and cremated; it must have been a non-core promise. As the ABC 7.30 report showed, one driver was only getting 14.9¢ per unit while another was getting 17¢. Both drivers stated that their contract terms were not viable for them to operate as a sole trader business that fairly rewarded them for their fixed costs, which continue to increase over time with compounding inflation, let alone take into account their own labour costs.

Further, there was nowhere for contracted drivers to go to resolve their contractual disputes. Sole contract drivers are delivering bread in the very early hours of the morning when most of us are asleep. They are working 100 days in a row and receiving $1,000 less than they were seven years ago, despite their operating costs going up during that time. It is not fair that they are unable to access an independent arbitration system that could rectify this scenario. The consequences of this market structure and imbalance in negotiating power are more than financial; they are also personal. The emotional and psychological stress cannot be underestimated, nor can the potential public safety issues around vehicular roadworthiness. We can all prolong the debate about the historical reasons for the existence of section 309 (4) (d)—an anomaly dating back to the 1950s. However, the historical reasons behind the section do not excuse its contemporaneous existence.

Leading employment and industrial relations expert Ms Alex Grayson made this point about sole contract drivers delivering bread, milk and cream, stating that they are "sitting in a regulatory black hole". These drivers are trapped in a workplace system from the 1950s that has not changed with the times; provides no access to an independent arbitration system that takes into account changing market conditions and industry conditions; does not recognise the negotiating power imbalance; and offers no avenue for a more independent determination on the contractual terms and conditions between drivers and producers. Determinations for contracted drivers should be based not on the products they deliver but on the services they provide in comparison to other drivers who offer the same service and who have legislative access to an independent arbitration system.

All our laws are a reflection of our communal values. The existence of section 309 (4) (d) in chapter 6 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 does not reflect the embedded Australian value of the fair go, which treats contracted drivers on a more consistent basis and according to industry norms. Omitting one sentence containing a mere 14 words can make a significant difference to the lives of sole contract drivers and their families. The passing of this bill would further reinforce the "fair go" ethos of our industrial relations system, and allow bread, milk and cream deliverers to access the same determinations under the Transport Industry – General Carriers Contract Determination 2017. Schedules A, B and C, for example, outline the vehicular type, costs, time and labour rates that are applicable to a sole contract driver's cost structure. These cost structures should also be applicable to the drivers we are trying to advocate for. These facts are contemporaneous with current industry operating structures and relevant to industry norms experienced by other contractor drivers providing similar or identical services.

One of the worst things you can do in public life is to hold on to an idea whose time has passed or try to stop an idea whose time has arrived. Section 309 (4) (d) was relevant for the 1950s, and its existence in 2018 has certainly expired. The New South Wales Parliament should not delay the passing of a bill whose time has arrived because the drivers and their families cannot afford to wait any longer, given this anomaly goes back to the 1950s. Providing access to an independent arbitration system: first, produces more consistency in contractual determinations; secondly, greatly reduces the power imbalance during negotiations; and, thirdly, gives small business sole contract drivers who deliver bread, milk or cream an avenue for contractual dispute resolution that is currently unavailable to them. Let us reform the New South Wales industrial relations system so that it is reflective of modern times and reinforces our ethos of a fair go. Let us pass this bill and produce public policy that meets the principles of contemporary relevance. I commend the bill introduced by my colleague the member for Campbelltown to the House.