Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent General Business notice No. 5 standing in the name of the Member for Perth, namely, that the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) (Consequential Amendments) Amendment Regulations 2006 (No 1), as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 50 and made under the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005, and other Acts, be disallowed, being called on and debated forthwith so that Members of the House can:

(a)

record the House’s contempt for the Government’s extreme industrial relations changes, including the removal of unfair dismissal rights which sees Australian employees at risk of being sacked, sacked unfairly for no reason or any reason;

(b)

record the House’s contempt for the Government’s attack on the wages, conditions and entitlements of Australian employees;

(c)

show by tearing up the regulations the House’s intention to tear up the Government’s unfair, unAustralian legislation; and

(d)

record the House’s contempt for the actual consequences of the Government’s changes, as highlighted by the Triangle Cables’ dismissal of nine employees who lost their unfair dismissal remedy because Triangle Cables employed only 97 employees, and Spotlight’s AWA stripping away conditions and entitlements like overtime, penalty rates and loadings for the princely sum of 2 cents an hour.

John Howard’s race to the bottom—2c an hour.

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