Opposing the Employment Relations Amendment Bill Matters

What the Bill Quietly Enables

• “Agreed” terminations that can’t be challenged: Even if the offer was coercive, it can’t be used as evidence unless criminal dishonesty is involved.
• Silence by design: Confidentiality clauses are legalised, stopping workers from speaking out about how or why they were let go.
• Inadmissible negotiations: Courts won’t see what really happened. Only what was signed.
• Surface-level protections: Workers are “advised” to seek legal counsel — but not supported to do so. And if they can’t? The process proceeds.

Why It Puts Fairness at Risk

• It hides power abuse: When silence is standard, mistreatment becomes invisible.
• It weakens the right to speak up: Gag clauses prevent patterns from being seen or challenged.
• It blocks justice: Making evidence inadmissible locks doors before workers can even knock.
• It harms the most vulnerable: Migrant, casual, or underpaid workers are least able to walk away — and most likely to sign under pressure.

The Person Behind the Bill

Laura McClure (formerly Laura Trask) introduced this bill. She is:

• An ACT Party MP — appointed via the party list, not elected directly
• Spokesperson for employment, education, mental health, and more — despite limited background in those fields
• A public advocate for “small government” — now pushing policies that shrink workplace accountability

This isn’t just paperwork. It’s a political move that lets power speak louder than people — then forces silence when it does.

If This Page Speaks to You

Silence is not always peace. And consent is not always free. Laws must protect both voice and fairness — or they protect no one at all.

“If workers can’t speak, and can’t show what happened, then justice is only for the powerful. This bill makes silence the standard.”
— Ukes Baha

Share if it matters. Submit if it concerns you. And always ask who benefits from silence — and who it harms.

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” — Thomas Jefferson (attrib.)