[Greens-Media] Building workers face gaol as right to silence taken away

[Twomey, Chris (Sen R. Siewert)]

Senator Rachel Siewert
Australian Greens Senator for WA

Thursday, 18 August 2005

Building workers face gaol as right to silence taken away

The Senate heard today how legislation proposed by the Howard government
would bring an end to Green Bans, and see workers who refused to dob in
a mate thrown in gaol for six months.

"I cannot believe this is happening on our country" said Senator
Siewert, Greens spokesperson on Industrial Relations,
 
"... This is the kind of thing you'd expect in of sweat-shops in a
third-world dictatorship"

Section 52(6) of the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Bill
takes away the right to silence - workers who refuse to produce
documents or answer questions can expect six months gaol.

"The government is taking away our basic human rights" said Senator
Siewert "Rights that ordinary working Australians struggled for decades
to earn. Rights that were the soul of the nation our great-grandparents
fought for..."

In a country where one worker dies on a building site each week, the
right to safety stoppages is being undermined - with the onus of proof
now on the workers to prove that their lives are at risk.

"Those directly affected by workplace safety and in the best place to
spot dangers no longer have a voice" said Senator Siewert "How many
workers lives are we prepared to trade away on the unproven chance these
changes might add a few points to growth?"

"Green Bans - which have helped protect the nation's heritage, and saved
areas like the Rocks district, Kelly's bush and Centennial Park - will
also be outlawed" she said.

Green Bans play a crucial role in making companies accountable for
environmental and public health disasters, like the way James Hardie
Industries were recently forced to take responsibility for the horrors
of asbestosis.

 "These radical changes are being driven by a hard-line ideology - they
are not in the interests of working families. They are destroying the
Australian way of life."

For more information or comment call Chris Twomey 0407 725 025
Email senator.siewert at aph.gov.au  |  http://www.rachelsiewert.org.au