Mr McMULLAN —Mr Deputy Speaker, I give notice that, at the next sitting, I shall present a bill for an act to amend the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and the Corporations Law in order to help protect the entitlements of employees. That notice will be seconded by my colleague the member for Barton (Mr McClelland).

I take this unusual step in order that the parliament have the maximum opportunity to deal with the protection of employees' entitlements. We need to test the bona fides of the government to see whether they are really concerned about the potential for corporate scams which may lead to the loss of jobs and legitimate entitlements by employees of corporations. Whatever one's view about Patrick's or the waterfront, the core issue is the security of employees' jobs and their entitlements.

At the moment we hear a lot of talk about security. The Prime Minister (Mr Howard) has just discovered the buzz word. Let us talk about a bit of security for Australian workers in the context of corporate restructuring which might cost them not only their jobs—the key asset of any family—but also the loss of those entitlements which they have legitimately established under their awards, their agreements and the laws of the Commonwealth and the states.

This is not about people making new claims or seeking new rights; it is about protecting two of the most fundamental rights in a modern industrial economy—the right of people who have jobs to retain those jobs when they act properly and the right of people to maintain their entitlements. (Time expired)