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Only parliament should make this decision
The United Workers Union, which according to the Electoral Commission of Queensland Electronic Disclosure register, has contributed $708,376.52 to the ALP over this electoral cycle, is pressuring the Steven Miles Labor government to bailout Star Entertainment to “prioritise the jobs of 8000 workers”, only 3,000 of which are in Queensland. The amount of the bailout is unquantified but is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, with the latest financials for Star showing taxes and charges of $183 m in a year. The United Workers Union represents the workers at Queen’s Wharf. Any bailout would represent an unacceptable conflict of interest for the government if it is to be handled by the premier and cabinet. - The premier, and a number of his ministers and backbenchers are members of the United Workers Union. According to the “Thirty-seventh report on the Register of Members’ Interests” these are Nikki Boyd, Don Brown, Jonty Bush, Craig Crawford, Mick de Brenni, Di Farmer, Aaron Harper, Ali King, Melissa McMahon, Barry O’Rourke, Curtis Pitt, Kim Richards, Peter Russo, Tom Smith.
- The premier’s PhD thesis was supported by the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, one of the precursor unions to the UWU. It was about how to enlist more union members.
- Gary Bullock, the National President of United Voice, is reputed to have done the deal which made Steven Miles the premier, rather than either Shannon Fentiman or Cameron Dick.
- The UWU is the fourth largest donor to the ALP over the election period.
None of the UWU members should be party to any negotiations, and on the basis of the size of the donation the government needs to be very transparent about any decisions it makes. Voters have every reason to be cynical about the proposed bailout. - ASIC statistics show that the number of companies entering administration in Queensland has more than doubled since 2021-22 from 952 to 2,036 in 2023-24. In 2021-22 172 accommodation and food businesses went into administration, and by 2023-24 this had grown to 393. In the first two months of this financial year 67 more accommodation and food businesses have gone into administration. Why is Star worthy of a bailout, and 4 Brothers Brewing, Barolos Italiano, CJ’s Fortitude Valley, and the 64 other, mostly non-unionised, businesses on the list at the end of this release aren’t?
- Queen’s Wharf is itself the catalyst for the destruction of other entertainment businesses in Brisbane. How many other businesses will shut because of Queens’ Wharf, and why don’t they deserve government money.
- In the event that Star were itself to go into liquidation or administration, the government would lose its money. On the basis of Star’s 22/23 financials this would be $183 million for 3,000 jobs or $61,000 each, and at the end of it the workers would see none of it and might well be in the same position they are today. The beneficiaries would be the secured creditors – the banks. This would be a bad deal.
- Government policies have undoubtedly led to this position. The hike in building costs is partly due to union featherbedding in the industry which raises prices at least 30% over where they should be. And the RBA governor recently specifically mentioned Queensland government spending as an inflation threat. While there is a threat of inflation interest rates are staying up. Spending more money they don't have will only make inflationary pressures worse and business failures more frequent.
The only way the government could act on this is to take it to parliament. That would require an unscheduled sitting between now and when parliament is dissolved for the election. None of the UWU members in parliament should vote on any arrangement. Any other course of action would be tainted because of the conflicts of interest of members of parliament and the Labor Party itself. For further information contact Graham Young 0411 104 801 or graham.young@aip.asn.au
List of food and accommodation companies who have gone into administration in last two months4 BROTHERS BREWING PTY LTD
4S HOSPITALITY PTY LTD
A.C.N. 679 046 452 PTY LTD
AUNITED BNC MANAGEMENT PTY LTD
BAROLOS ITALIANO PTY LTD
BEAR BOY PTY LTD
BLACKWOOD CORPORATE GROUP PTY LTD
BOSTON FERN PTY LTD
BROWNLIE PATTERSON INVESTMENTS PTY LTD
BURROWS & MAYES PTY LTD
CAMPION COTTAGES PTY LTD
CATNAPPER PTY LTD
CINARGO PTY LTD
CJ'S FORTITUDE VALLEY PTY LTD
CLADCO ENTERPRISES PTY LTD
CLUB 2112 PTY LTD
COFFEE NOOK PTY LTD
CUISINIER AUSTRALIS PTY LTD
DEATH BEFORE DECAF PTY. LTD.
EVE'S SWEETS PTY LTD
FLOPPY NUTS PTY LTD
FRANKIE'S SMOKEHOUSE PTY LTD
GOLD COAST QSR CONCEPTS MIAMI PTY LTD
GREENLAND INVESTMENT PTY LTD
GROUNDED @ BUDERIM PTY LTD
GROUNDED @ WOOMBYE PTY LTD
GULLY TRAP PTY LTD
HASN PTY LTD
HIKARU BRISBANE PTY LTD
HOGS ON THE RANGE PTY LTD
JAD FRESH PTY LTD
JAP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
JD'S CHICKEN CO PTY LTD
JRH FAMILY GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD
JWX HOLDINGS PTY LTD
KJ ASSETS QLD PTY LTD
LILLIPAD PTY. LTD.
LUX VENUE GROUP PTY LTD
MAISONNETS PTY LTD
MASU IZAKAYA PTY LTD
MR KOJIMA PTY LTD
NGF (QLD) PTY LTD
NICKEL TO DIME PTY LTD
NOURISH TO FLOURISH CAFE PTY LTD
PEPPERJETTS PTY LTD
PIRES HOSPITALITY GROUP PTY LTD
RED ROOSTER FOREST LAKE PTY LTD
RIYAN PTY LTD
SANDWICH BAR 79 PTY LTD
SELINA OPERATION BRISBANE PTY LTD
SELINA OPERATION MAGNETIC ISLAND PTY LTD
SUR AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
SUZY HOSPITALITY PTY LTD
THE BREW BARON BEER COMPANY PTY LTD
THE DISPENSE STATION PTY LTD
TRAWZLOE PTY LTD
TREVBRO PTY LTD
VEND MARKET PLACE PTY LTD
VERAZ PTY LTD
VERONA SC PTY LTD
WHAT'S IN THE POT? PTY LTD
WHITE HORSE RANCH PTY LTD
WHY NOT CONNECT 1 PTY LTD
WORTHY PIE CO. PTY LTD
YZ CHINESE CUISINE PTY LTD
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