Gig Economy

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:43): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the minister tell the council about the McKell Institute boardroom lunch?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:43): I thank the honourable member for his question. The McKell Institute, which launched relatively recently in South Australia, does important work encouraging discussion about public policy, particularly between unions, business groups, academics and the wider community. It was a pleasure to be invited to and join the McKell Institute for a boardroom lunch earlier this year on Friday 11 October. This event provided a valuable opportunity to engage in important discussions about the gig economy in South Australia.

The gig economy obviously has a large presence in South Australia, as it does in all jurisdictions in this country and most parts of the world. Many South Australians benefit from the convenience of these platforms and also from the opportunities for employment they have provided. However, I think it is widely acknowledged across the country that governments and parliament should look at this industry, and whether our industrial relations laws ought to be adapted to ensure they reflect the specific circumstances faced by workers and businesses in this emerging area.

The federal government has made significant strides in introducing significant legislative reforms in this space; these include granting the Fair Work Commission the power to set minimum standards for employee-like workers in the gig economy and a framework for handling unfair deactivation disputes. The federal government is also providing a jurisdiction to deal with disputes about unfair deactivation from a digital platform by employee-like workers.

In South Australia, our former colleague the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos chaired the Select Committee on the Gig Economy. She chaired it until her retirement, after which the mantle was taken up by the Hon. Robert Simms. The report of that committee sets out a range of areas for further consideration, which provided valuable talking points at the McKell Institute event. The state government and, I think, all South Australians want to see gig economy workers receiving fair pay and conditions, dignity at work and a safe work environment, like any other employee in this state.

We do not want to see the gig platforms circumventing or undercutting important workplace protections which have been established over decades and over the last century. We also want to ensure South Australian businesses are not being undercut by providers who are evading the same regulatory requirements that they themselves are subject to, but we acknowledge the significant and important role that gig platforms now play in our economy in this state.

This was very much a feature of the discussion at the most recent McKell Institute event, which was attended by organisations including the Ai Group, SA Unions, the Transport Workers' Union, St Vincent de Paul, the South Australian Business Chamber and academics from Flinders Uni and the Uni of Adelaide. It was a very welcome opportunity to bring together a diverse range of stakeholders to discuss important policy issues in the gig economy. I would like to thank those who attended for their thoughtful engagement, and particularly the McKell Institute CEO Ed Cavanough and South Australian director Gemma Beale. I look forward to the work of the McKell Institute and engaging in more very worthwhile discussions in the future.