Court Simon; O'Connor GregSIMON COURT (ACT): The ACT Party won't be supporting this bill but I do want to acknowledge the concerns that the member has raised by bringing the Crimes (Theft by Employer) Amendment Bill to the House. The crime of theft in terms of the Crimes Act means theft or stealing dishonestly and without claim of right taking any property with intent to deprive any owner permanently of that property or of any interest in that property". For those listening at home I think that's a point which maybe has been missed so far.Employees have a number of ways that they can seek redress if their employer has not paid them their due. For example there are a number of Acts. The Holidays Act: there have been a number of Government departments local councils Government agencies which haven't been able to fulfil their obligations to employees under the Holidays Act requirements. It's taken years and years and years to sort out back-pay for those employees. Potentially those employees under this proposed legislation would have a claim of theft if it goes on for long enough. Well this Government has allowed unpaid holiday pay to be withheld from nurses for example for years and years and years. Potentially the liability comes to billions of dollars. Would this bill allow the nurses to bring a claim of theft by an employer against a Government department?There are the Wages Protection Act 1983 and the Minimum Wage Act 1983. They all provide protections for workers who have not been paid in accordance with their employment contract.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: No no no—that's a wage deduction Act.SIMON COURT: Now there are many many opportunities for employees to receive benefits from their employers that may or may not be subject to a wage deduction agreement Dr Webb but are often extended to help out employees when they're starting a new job for example or when they are faced with a choice of paying a bill or putting tyres on the car for example. Sometimes employers will help out their staff. I'm aware of employers who have paid household bills for their staff because their staff are suffering under the cost of living crisis which has been exacerbated by this Government's crazy and wasteful spending that has forced up interest rates and the cost of everything with inflation over 7 percent at one point—now 6 percent. Employers extend all kinds of loans and allowances to employees which may not be covered. If the employer needs to recover that loan or that allowance whether it's for boots and overalls for a new worker starting out in construction; whether it's for a set of tyres so a worker can get a warrant of fitness so they can get to work; or whether it's a food tab or a bar tab like many of the employees who work in Parliament have at our cafe Coppers—now there may well be an opportunity for an employee to get a benefit from an employer and then for that employer to need to make a deduction and if it's not documented then potentially that employer is exposed to charges of theft.What ACT believes is that business owners should be trusted to treat their employees well. Employees are extremely valuable. Anyone who's ever had to hire someone in the past few years knows how difficult it is to get good staff how important it is to treat them well and how important it is to pay them on time. If you don't treat them well and you don't pay them on time then they can leave and go somewhere else and take their labour with them. It's much harder to do business if you don't have workers. The ACT Party trusts employers to get this right. If they don't get it right there are already mechanisms for employees to take action and recover their wages. ACT won't support this any further.DEPUTY SPEAKER: This debate is interrupted. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. today.Debate interrupted.The House adjourned at 12.59 p.m. (Wednesday)"