Latest news with #AWU
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Australia's current childcare funding model risks failing our most precious people
When you attach profit to caring, you create a problem. We don't need yet another series of reviews and reports to tell us that when you rely on the blunt-force of the market, you will see profiteering from government subsidies, lack of quality in service delivery dressed up as 'efficiency' to maximise profits, and next to no services in areas where there's little money to be made. Australia's current funding model, the childcare subsidy (CCS), has facilitated the rapid expansion of for-profit providers, who now operate nearly 75% of all childcare services across the country. Research shows that for-profit providers typically deliver lower quality care while charging higher fees than not-for-profit services. Individual providers who are failing in their care for our most precious people should be held to account, but this is a systemic failure, and the broader fix will be a big, complicated job. Many of those who work in the early childhood education sector will tell you that they struggle to provide quality education to our children and to keep them safe amid sometimes shocking lack of oversight and adherence to existing rules. In a recent national survey of 2,000 members from the AWU, conducted before charges were laid against a worker in Victoria, one staff member from that state said 'I can't even guarantee the safety of the children and myself'. Of the educators surveyed, 77% said they were operating below minimum staffing requirements at least weekly, and 42% said it was happening daily. The early childhood educators who I have met have been hard-working, kind, mostly women, who work for low pay to do incredibly important work. Some private centres are exceeding requirements and standards. But most are not, and the system is failing not only children and families, but the staff and organisations who are doing the right thing. The ABC's Four Corners report in March revealed that one in 10 childcare centres in Australia have never been rated by regulators and pointed out that only 14% of for-profit centres meet national standards. Those standards are set by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), but it has no power to enforce them across a system which is managed by states and territories. So how do we fix it? This question needs to be tackled now, especially if the government is serious about implementing a universal early childhood education and care system, which it should be. Evidence shows that children do most of their formative development under age five, and that quality early childhood education enables them to reach their full potential. That opportunity must be offered to all children in an equitable society. Quality, accessible, affordable care also enables women to work. It begins to remove the innate disadvantages for women who begin a lifelong slide into lower wages, less superannuation and higher financial risk almost as soon as they walk out of school or tertiary education. For those reading along who will now default to the simplistic just stay home with the kids position, get a grip. Single parents don't have a choice. Nor do couples who are struggling with the price of housing. This generation of parents may not have the option of one parent staying at home. Do not blame families for this. Safe, quality, accessible, affordable care for our children is essential for families, women, children and the economy. But protecting profit for private providers should not be guiding policy. What we need is better oversight and better regulation. Governments like being presented with solutions, so here are two. First, as the National children's commissioner, Anne Hollonds, says, 'National cabinet must make 'child safety and wellbeing' a key priority.' 'Currently the word 'children' is entirely missing from the list of priorities for National Cabinet.' We need a cabinet minister for Children. A minister would prioritise the litany of issues afflicting our kids, from the transformative opportunity to implement a universal early childhood education system, to youth safety and mental health, to the impact of social media and so on. Secondly, we need an Early Childhood Commission to set a national approach to regulatory standards, so that everyone is meeting them, including the for-profit providers. Earlier this year I joined The Parenthood, Goodstart Early Learning, Early Childhood Australia and Royal Far West calling for a national commission to set a national standard and weed out unscrupulous operators. It would also oversee the rolling out of a universal early childhood education system, a policy shift that could be as transformative as the introduction of Medicare for families, children and the nation. Labor has the numbers and the mandate to leave this legacy. Never waste a crisis. Zoe Daniel is a three-time ABC foreign correspondent and former independent member for Goldstein
AU Financial Review
06-07-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
AWU calls for smelter strategy amid growing crises
The Australian Workers Union has backed calls for a strategy to manage the billions of dollars being sought to prop up fiscally troubled metal smelters as maverick independent MP Bob Katter pushes for government intervention at Glencore's Mount Isa copper operations. National secretary Paul Farrow said the AWU would welcome a smelting strategy under Labor's Future Made in Australia policy, with equity or long-term loans on the table for business being forced to weather global markets being distorted by China and others.
ABC News
04-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Santos considering plans to 'simplify' SA's Port Bonython site, putting jobs at risk says union
Santos Limited is reviewing its operations at its Port Bonython site to see how it can "simplify" them, putting a number of local jobs at risk. The facility is located about 400 kilometres north-west of Adelaide and 30 kilometres north-east of Whyalla, in the Upper Spencer Gulf. In a statement, a Santos spokesperson said it "continuously assesses options to improve the long-term sustainability" of its operations. "Santos is currently considering a proposal to simplify operations at Port Bonython and, as part of the process, is consulting with staff before a final decision is made," they said. "This proposal is part of our long-term plan to keep our Cooper Basin activities profitable while actively reducing emissions from our operations in line with our safeguard mechanism obligations. "No decisions have been made yet." When asked by the ABC if jobs would be at risk, Santos Limited did not comment. Around 50 people work at the Port Bonython site, which is a gas fractionation plant with a deep-water port and a storage facility. Crude and naphtha products processed there are shipped to be used in fuels and manufacturing in energy markets around Australia and Asia. Australian Workers Union (AWU) South Australia branch secretary Gary Henderson said Santos informed it earlier this week that the company had begun assessing its Port Bonython operations. "There's no indication in the exact amount of actual jobs [that could be lost]," Mr Henderson said. "But my understanding is that out of the process, if it is approved, there will be excess employees … at the Port Bonython site. "Santos have said that their first port of call will be to redeploy those people … but there could be some redundancies." Mr Henderson said the consultation process would run until the end of the month, but there was no guarantee it would go the way workers hoped. "They [Santos] just need to consider it as part of their decision-making process," he said. Mr Henderson said workers were fearful, but it was not all "doom and gloom". "I've spoken to a few of our members down there … they're a little bit anxious because they're not quite sure about who's going to get a job, where they're going to be working in the future, those kinds of things," he said. "But it's a pretty long process, and my understanding is that if they [Santos] do enact the change, it won't go ahead until about this time next year. "No job losses in any site is a good thing by any means at all, but it's just about adapting as well."
The Age
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
State government grant supported firm with criminal links
The AWU went on to say 'key partners' would bring their specialised expertise to the program, singling out 24-7 Personnel, one of the business names used by the company linked to Hennig and the Elsayed brothers. 'Recruitment company 24-7 Personnel has embraced the program with remarkable enthusiasm, branding their involvement as 'Empower 24-7',' the newsletter says. 'Their dedication has yielded impressive results, with over 2000 applications from women eager to participate in the initiative. 'What sets this program apart from other initiatives using traditional labor [sic] hire companies is the leadership and commitment of 24-7 Personnel's two female directors, who will personally participate in the mentoring initiative post-training. This creates a unique environment where participants can connect with women who have successfully navigated the industry.' The company's two female directors, Kristina Kuzmanovska and Rebecca Reed, are the partners of Bassem Elsayed and Jarrod Hennig. The firm's registered address is the office of a gangland accountant being probed by federal police over unrelated allegations. The business is owned by two family trusts linked to each woman. Reed responded to this masthead's initial story by saying the business had 'no knowledge of or involvement with organised crime at all and is in all respects a well-run small family business'. On Friday, this masthead revealed that Hennig, who was jailed for eight years on multiple counts of drug trafficking, had signed AWU enterprise-bargaining agreements secured by 24-7 using his middle name, Morgan. He has also been photographed with Bassem Elsayed and AWU delegates at a lunch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The involvement of 24-7 in the AWU's taxpayer-funded program has raised questions about whether a portion of this money came into the hands of the organised criminal figures or their associates. In a brochure produced by the company, Empower Women 24-7 is referred to as a collaboration with the union 'designed to actively support and prepare women for meaningful employment in traditionally male-dominated industries'. 'Our initial focus [is] on the manufacturing sector, with plans to expand across construction and other industries,' it says. The brochure includes the AWU logo and features a picture of Kuzmanovska and Reed. In June 2024, the Allan government officially announced the $191,400 payment to the AWU for a project in a broader media release, after the agreement was signed on May 20. The AWU and 24-7 did not respond to questions about how much of this funding went to Empower Women 24-7 and how much in total grant funding has been provided to the company through their arrangements with the AWU. Minister Natalie Hutchins, a member of the AWU, who is the responsible minister for women's equality grants, recused herself from the grant-funding decisions involving the union because it represented a conflict of interest. In another newsletter to members, AWU Victoria secretary Ronnie Hayden on Friday responded to The Age 's reporting, saying there were 'no allegations of corruption against the Australian Workers' Union or its members'. 'The reporting attempts to link companies and individuals to historic criminal associations without providing evidence of any wrongdoing in relation to the projects or the union. 'While the story references certain AWU delegates and labour-hire companies, it is important to note that no one — neither the union nor the companies involved — has been accused of any criminal offence. 'Like you, I care deeply about the integrity of our union and the projects we help deliver.' However, Hayden said the story again highlighted a 'broader issue' with the use of labour-hire companies on taxpayer-funded projects. 'That's why I'm calling for reform — specifically, a ban or significant reduction in the use of labour-hire firms on government projects,' he said. 'Instead, we should prioritise direct employment models that protect workers' rights and improve accountability. 'We will continue to review our processes to ensure we uphold the standards our members expect and deserve.' MPC Kinetic is one of the companies delivering the Golden Plains Wind Farm. When contacted by The Age, chief executive and managing director Adam Machon said: 'We are not aware of any criminal allegations against MPC employees on the project.' The Victorian government would not say whether it could seek to claw back the money that went to 24-7. 'We have zero tolerance for any sort of illegal behaviour – there is no place for it on any worksite,' a spokesperson said. 'Unions are meant to keep people safe – we are making sure that people coming forward with information about conduct on worksites have the complaints processes and protections they deserve.'
The Age
12-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘Not to be messed with': Criminals recruited for country's biggest wind farm
When Keys arrived at the wind farm, west of Melbourne, as the AWU's chief delegate, he was determined not to let history repeat. According to project insiders, he began cultivating people who could keep the CFMEU at bay. Among them was ex-AFL player Billy Nicholls, who in 2015 was sentenced to 11 years' jail for shooting two men in their legs over drug disputes. Both victims survived, and Nicholls was convicted of intentionally causing serious his arrest, the former Hawthorn and Richmond player's life had become consumed by ice and a descent into the underworld. Keys told supporters Nicholls had not only left jail a reformed man, but with a tough-guy reputation that ensured the CFMEU had earmarked him to join its growing list of criminals-turned-union reps. Keys got in first, appointing Nicholls his new AWU wind farm deputy delegate. Nicholls would in turn bring his own hard men to the wind farm, proposing as a delegate an ex-Geelong bikie and boxer called Brad Azzopardi, who had been released from prison after being jailed for a dangerous driving incident that left a man dead. Wiser heads in the AWU intervened and Azzopardi, who has a 1 per cent bikie tattoo on his head, was instead given a support job on the wind farm. Nicholls also arranged for ex-bikie Jonny Walker, who served eight years in jail for manslaughter over the fatal bashing of a man in a bikie clubhouse, to get work at the wind farm after the CFMEU turfed Walker amid a bikie cleanout in the wake of the Building Bad scandal in July 2024. Along with hard men, Keys and his deputy were also assembling a group of staunch AWU companies capable of withstanding the CFMEU's pressure and heavy connections. Project sources said 24-7 would come to stand out. Workers from rival labour hire firms were pushed onto its books and 24-7 began promoting, through its website, its achievement in supplying 'approximately 50 skilled people … to one of the largest renewable wind farm projects in the world', as well as its 'close working relationships with industry stakeholders, including unions'. When project and union insiders queried why Keys appeared so enamoured with the labour hire company, despite its lack of obvious civil construction experience or AWU history, they became concerned it was because of the whispers that 24-7 had both gangland and CFMEU protection. When first approached by this masthead a fortnight ago, Keys said he had no knowledge of the firm's criminal links, or of any person called Bassem. He said 24-7 involved only 'two girl directors and the operations manager' and that he had 'never met a guy' called Bassem. Keys subsequently refused to answer further questions on the record, despite repeated attempts by this masthead to quiz him. But photos uncovered by this masthead show Keys, Nicholls and a third AWU delegate being hosted by 24-7 at the Collingwood AFL President's Lunch at the MCG on the day the Building Bad scandal broke last July. In the photos, there is no sign of the firm's female directors. Rather, the AWU trio are snapped at the 24-7 table posing with two brothers, Bassem and Osama Elsayed, along with a third man, Jarrod Hennig. Bassem is a convicted criminal who was accused in a September 2017 bail hearing by a Victoria Police special taskforce of hiring a violent criminal to bribe a grandmother preparing to testify that his brother Osama had shoved a gun in her son's mouth over a drug debt. A detective told the bail hearing of her concerns about Bassem's 'associations with organised crime' and how phone taps had captured him and his younger brother talking about how the violent criminal would be 'taking care of it'. Loading 'They have a conversation, laughing in regards to how loose … [the standover man] is and they know that he has … [previously] murdered someone,' the court heard. The court also heard allegations Bassem had separately extorted an associate over a $100,000 business loan, texting the victim: 'I hope Allah burns you in hell you thief' and allegedly hiring a standover man who threatened to 'rape' the debtor's family. After the victim retracted the most serious allegations from his statement, Bassem was sentenced in 2019 to six months' jail and a 12-month community corrections order. The conviction added to a criminal rap sheet that already included 'offences of violence, dishonesty, firearm, driving and drug offences' and which Victorian Supreme Court judge Rita Zammit described as 'significant'. Osama was, in August 2019, separately jailed for three years and four months for his role in a drug trafficking syndicate and for separate charges of robbery and recklessly causing injury. This drug syndicate was led by the third man photographed at the MCG lunch, Jarrod Hennig, who was jailed for eight years on multiple counts of drug trafficking. Industry, underworld and police sources, along with corporate and court records, reveal Hennig's middle name to be Morgan. He is the 'Jarrod Morgan' whose signature appears on AWU enterprise bargaining agreements secured by 24-7 in 2023 and 2024. Hennig is also married to Rebecca Reed, who signed off on the same documents as 24-7's director. Her co-director, Kristina Kuzmanovska, is Bassem Elsayed's wife. Osama Elsayed also appears to have been involved in the 24-7 group, creating a business called 24-7 Waterproofing in 2024 with fellow convicted drug trafficker Mohsen Mehrijafarloo. In January 2025, 24-7 Labour moved its registered office to a new Northcote business address. On the same day, Osama moved another of his businesses to the same registered office. The address is the office of accountant Charles Pellegrino, who for years has handled the finances of the CFMEU-backed gangland figures Mick Gatto and John Khoury. Pellegrino's Northcote office was raided in March by a federal police team investigating payments to Pellegrino's companies that were allegedly intended for Gatto, Khoury and other construction industry or union players. No charges have been laid. There is no suggestion the Elsayed brothers are the targets of that federal police operation. But they have their own strong links to the CFMEU. A character referee for Bassem at his 2017 bail hearing was ex-kickboxer and bouncer Chris Chrisopoulidis, who told the judge he was 'good friends' with Bassem. Chrisopoulidis would go on to become one of the CFMEU organisers who confronted Keys on the West Gate project. Bassem's wife, Kristina, is also a 50 per cent shareholder of a construction firm which gained a CFMEU enterprise bargaining agreement in 2021. Her co-owner of that business is builder Thomas Chillico, who is facing criminal charges for allegedly bribing a public official to gain construction permits. In a statement, Rebecca Reed said 24-7 'has no knowledge of or involvement with organised crime at all and is in all respects a well-run small family business. Loading 'If anyone has made allegations that 24-7 … is in any way involved with organised crime, those allegations are false,' she wrote. She said that while the company took a 'progressive approach to ex-offenders', Bassem had no 'formal involvement' with her firm. Reed did not answer several specific questions, or respond to further requests. Asked about whether he knew of 24-7 ties to any criminals such as Bassem, AWU secretary Ronnie Hayden said he had 'no idea who any of these people are'. 'When 24-7 came to us … Jared [sic] came with two women, Rebecca and Kristina,' he said. Hayden stressed he had never authorised the AWU to give preferential treatment to any labour hire firm. He conceded it was possible Keys had 'favoured' 24-7 because of concerns other labour hire firms were not giving the AWU the chance to recruit their workers as union members. 'I understand Johnny was pissed off with the labour hire companies that had done that,' he said. Before 24-7 was engaged at Golden Plains, there was the Host Group. It not only supplied multiple workers to the wind farm project but allied itself closely with the AWU in Queensland, contributing dozens of workers and security personnel to the government-funded Centenary Bridge upgrade in Brisbane. Host's director Gary Samuel has recently fallen out dramatically with the AWU over hotly disputed claims of underpayment of workers. But until last year, Host promoted itself boldly as the AWU's preferred labour hire company across the nation, helping it win an important contract with Centenary Bridge's key contractor, BMD Group. That deal partly involved providing security against intimidation tactics carried out by the CFMEU on the project. BMD declined to comment, but this masthead's investigation has confirmed that a security subcontractor used by Host to help do this engaged several high-ranking Comancheros, including the feared bikie group's national president, Bemir Saracevic, to intimidate CFMEU figures in Brisbane last year. While there is no suggestion that Samuel himself was involved in the Comanchero standover, he has a history of underworld relationships. Sources close to Samuel have confirmed he met Saracevic on multiple occasions, having employed one of the bikie boss's close friends as a Host adviser and worker. Royal commission records reveal that in 2011, Samuel advised a building firm owned by Mick Gatto and his fellow underworld identity Mat Tomas (both Tomas and Gatto achieved notoriety by beating separate murder charges). Samuel later went into a failed business venture with Tomas and also ran the Victorian operations of the now-deceased labour hire king Kevin McHugh, whom federal police charged in 2020 with money laundering offences and tax fraud. Loading Samuel is also close to convicted drug trafficker turned businessman Michael La Verde, who married into a prominent Calabrian mafia family and has a host of organised crime connections. La Verde claims on LinkedIn to be involved in Samuel's Host Group, although it is understood this is limited to Samuel providing his friend an email address. Samuel declined to answer specific questions but in a statement said it was 'important to acknowledge the ongoing rivalry between the CFMEU and the AWU' and that 'certain factions of the CFMEU have been linked to organised crime'. 'Our company is law-abiding and has no link to organised crime,' he said. The AWU is now rethinking its backing of the firm at the wind farm and the Centenary Bridge. Quizzed about Host, Hayden conceded the union failed to undertake thorough due diligence of labour hire firms it has supported with EBAs and other union backing. He said the union would lift its game but also urged federal and state governments to do more to weed out sinister players in the industry. Hayden said one vital reform the Albanese government could back was banning labour hire on government-funded projects. 'I think any project that the government are putting taxpayers' money into should be direct employment,' he said. A Victorian government spokesperson said it was 'eradicating the rotten culture' in the construction industry, including through the introduction of new powers for the Labour Hire Authority. Federal Workplace Relations minister Amanda Rishworth said the government was finalising a blueprint to improve the industry and was working on the implementation of a new labour hire system.
