JobKeeper Accountability ☝ State Of Emergency Powers Extended 🚨 Workers, Please Know Your Rights 👷

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ONE NATION CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERPAYMENTS TO BE RECOVERED

Publicly-listed companies which have received JobKeeper payments will be held to account for their claims under a One Nation amendment to treasury legislation that was passed in the Senate today with the support of the government, the Opposition, and independent senator Rex Patrick.

One Nation leader, Senator Pauline Hanson, said the amendment, requiring listed entities to provide JobKeeper payment information to be published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), was an important first step towards accountability.

“We want the government held accountable for the poor design of JobKeeper, along with JobKeeper recipients who enriched themselves at taxpayers’ expense,” Senator Hanson said.

“Listed entities will be required to provide a notice to market regulators disclosing the number of individuals for whom JobKeeper was received, the total received, and whether the entity had voluntarily paid any of the money back.

“This information would then be published by ASIC in a consolidated report. Listed entities’ financial details are a matter of public record, so they can be matched with the report to determine if entities have enriched their executives at taxpayers’ expense.”

Senator Hanson said unsuccessful amendments moved by Labor and independent senator Rex Patrick failed to implement real accountability.

“They were transparency measures which didn’t lead to accountability, and One Nation was concerned it was little more than a naming and shaming exercise conscripting the public to put undue pressure on the small businesses which have borne the brunt of lockdowns,” she said.

“It was essentially grandstanding that would not produce any real accountability outcomes, but potentially lead to unintended negative consequences. I challenged Labor to introduce their own amendment to recover JobKeeper overpayments, but they’re too gutless.”

Senator Hanson also called on the government to introduce legislation addressing the poor design of JobKeeper.

“JobKeeper legislation needs to be amended to introduce some retrospectivity and enable the recovery of JobKeeper overpayments,” she said.

STATE OF EMERGENCY POWERS EXTENDED TO 30 APRIL 2022 – SAD DAY FOR SMALL BUSINESS & THEIR WORKERS
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By One Nation’ Stephen Andrew, MP for Mirani, Queensland

As most of you probably already know, the Public Health Extension of Emergency Powers Bill was passed by the Queensland Parliament this week.

With the passing of the Bill, the Chief Health Officer’s extraordinary state of emergency powers under the Public Health Act, have been extended another 8 months to 30 April 2022.

These are the powers that are being used to close businesses, churches, theatres and restaurants, and to issue mask mandates, border closures, mandatory QR sign-in, travel bans, strict social distancing rules along with other measures.

Under the original Act, these powers were strictly time-limited and set to expire after only 14 days.

By 30 April 2022, they will have been in place for more than 2 years, with no guarantee they won’t be extended again after that.

In fact, judging by some of the statements made by the Health Minister, I would say the chances of another extension past 30 April 2022 are pretty high.

The continuation of these laws is such a radical departure from our liberal and democratic traditions that I feel strongly that an urgent Inquiry or Review needs to be carried out, particularly in relation to all the legal, constitutional and human rights implications which have never been properly addressed.

Amendments to the Bill, which were supported by the LNP and all the Crossbench members, including myself, were tossed out and the Bill passed with the support of the LNP, although no actual vote was counted.

Knowing that many businesses and industries will close, and Queensland’s mental health crisis worsen, with the passing of this Bill, is gut-wrenching.

Members were only given a few short minutes to say anything as the Government had made drastic cuts to the time available for debate on the Bill.

I am posting a link to the comments I made on the Bill today during the short debate – see below for link.

It is a sad day, however – especially for all the small businesses and their workers who will suffer income and job losses as a result of this long extension of the Government’s power to force shutdowns at the drop of a hat – while allowing large wealthy retailers and sporting arenas to stay open as normal.
My thoughts are with all of them tonight.

See the Speech below!
Watch Now! ([link removed])

WORKERS, PLEASE KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

By One Nation’s NSW Leader Mark Latham MLC

There’s a report in the Daily Telegraph today that the NSW Government is expecting businesses to collect the vaccination status of their workers and pass this information onto the Government, clearing fully-vaccinated businesses to resume trading later this year.

Workers should know they have rights in rejecting this approach.

Vaccination records are highly sensitive private health information. They are protected under the Commonwealth’s 1988 Privacy Act.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has issued instructions about the privacy rights of workers with regard to their vaccination records. She has said that employers can only collect this information in “very limited circumstances”. Employees can say 'No' to an employer wanting to permanently record the information, such as on a computer database. No worker should be threatened with the sack for failing to hand over his or her records.

In wanting to examine a vaccination record, employers must advise their staff as to how the information will be handled and what privacy safeguards apply. The Information Commissioner says that, “An employee’s vaccination status is considered sensitive health information under the Privacy Act and higher privacy protections apply.”.

Clearly, no employer should collect the vaccination records of their staff, record it and pass it onto anyone else, including the NSW Government. Workers have a legal right to refuse and one would expect, if sacked by their employer, they could pursue unfair dismissal claims with a strong chance of success.

The NSW Government is reported as wanting to store the information on the Service NSW database. Unfortunately, Service NSW is notorious for sensitive personal information leaking out and hackers getting in. For instance, there was a massive hack and loss of personal data earlier this year.

Please be careful with your personal health information. Privacy matters and people have rights.

For instance, the Federal Government is allowing (and encouraging) vaccination certificates to be stored on platforms held by big IT companies, Google and Apple. Once again, these are susceptible to security breaches. These private companies have also been known to on-sell the data for commercial gain.

Getting vaccinated is one thing. Keeping your health data private is an entirely different challenge.



** IS YOUR JOB FORCING YOU TO GET VACCINATED?
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The legalities of an employer forcing you to get the jab are still a grey zone in Australia. You can download this letter to send to your employer if they have asked you to take the vaccine. It will put pressure on them to take responsibility and provide you with information, and it may even cause them to hesitate in making their decision.

The answers to some of the questions will also provide important information in the event that you decide to challenge the direction in court. Download the letter with its explanation by clicking the link below.
Download Letter! ([link removed])
That is this weeks recap from One Nation.

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