Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

It is always great to hear the member for Hotham in here. It is always great to see that he has survived. There has been no increase according to Job Watch in the number of calls. And what this does is to expose once again that this campaign by the ACTU and the Labor Party is pure hysteria. If you want to have a more realistic view of what the impact of these changes is, just take one from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth today, in the member for New England’s electorate. We had a Mr Max Cathcart, the Manager of the Tamworth and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who said this about Work Choices:

There will be many, many benefits to employees and employers over the next four to five years.

That is what he said. A good employer will look after their employee because it is so hard to find good employees in rural areas. And we know that right around Australia. Mr Cathcart went on to say:

The unfair dismissal law has been a deterrent to employing people.

As Hudson said this morning, four in 10 businesses are looking to take on additional employees over the next three or four months to the end of June. This shows that, rather than the hysterical fear campaign we are getting from the Leader of the Opposition and the union movement, Work Choices provides Australian employers and businesses and their employees with the flexibility needed to get on and create more jobs. The Leader of the Opposition and his puppet-master, Mr Combet, ought to take a cold shower.

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