One of Australia’s biggest business lobbies is upset at new safety laws. 

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has accused the Albanese government of leveraging road safety concerns to grant extraordinary influence to the Transport Workers' Union (TWU), potentially driving up costs for businesses across the board. 

The MCA claims that proposed legislation, currently under Senate committee scrutiny, goes far beyond its stated safety objectives and could provide the TWU with substantial sway over supply chain conditions.

Central to the MCA's concerns are what it considers vague powers granted to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) and broad ministerial discretion to impose obligations on industry supply chain participants.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke recently introduced the ‘Closing Loopholes’ bill, which would establish an expert road transport panel within the FWC responsible for setting minimum standards for owner-drivers, including rates and “fair payment times”.

Burke says that the panel will consult a newly formed Road Transport Advisory Group on these decisions.

The government says these obligations aim to promote “equitable workplace relations”, a “safe and sustainable” industry, “sustainable competition”, and fairness.

It has been alleged that the advisory group will include various transport organisations, even some that had previously opposed similar laws, as a prerequisite for their support of the changes. 

But the MCA suggests that the TWU might exert significant influence through the group, as membership does not legally require representation of the transport sector.

The MCA, which represents mining giants like BHP, Rio Tinto, Roy Hill, South32, and Lynas, argues that the only requirement is that at least one member should represent the industrial interests of transport contractors or businesses, effectively providing a platform for the TWU.

TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine insists that the advisory group and its subcommittees, consisting of “genuine industry voices”, are crucial for achieving a safe and sustainable road transport industry.

The MCA says the FWC panel could make decisions that extend beyond the road transport industry (RTI), and the broad regulatory powers given to the minister could lead to the TWU's influence affecting other sectors, driving up costs throughout supply chains.

The lobby has also raised alarms about regulation-making powers which could allow the minister to unilaterally determine which workers and businesses are impacted by the provisions. 

Parallels have been drawn to the former Gillard government's Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, which led to protests and convoys by owner-drivers who claimed that its minimum rates undermined their viability.