John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I have not seen or been briefed on that particular presentation, but I have seen and been briefed on the Bureau of Statistics, which publishes a survey every two years of employee earnings and hours. The results from the most recent survey, conducted in mid-2004, became available earlier this year. This survey allows a comparison to be made between the earnings of individuals on AWAs and those on registered collective agreements.

The published data showed that the average weekly total earnings of employees working under AWAs are on average 13 per cent higher than for those employees covered by certified agreements. Both managerial and non-managerial employees on AWAs have higher average total earnings than equivalent employees on certified agreements. Managerial employees on AWAs have earnings that are on average 19 per cent higher than those on collective agreements. The earnings of non-managerial employees on AWAs are on average five per cent higher than those on collective agreements. These comparisons are made on the basis of average weekly total earnings as opposed to ordinary time earnings. It is entirely appropriate to make the comparison as traditional rigid employment categories, such as full time, part time and casual, are less common in AWAs, where a premium is placed on flexibility. A focus on weekly take-home pay recognises that many employees on AWAs enjoy greater flexibility in the hours they work.

I have a message for the people of Australia who are enjoying the enhanced benefits of AWAs: the Leader of the Opposition is after your aspirational prosperity. The Leader of the Opposition wants to dent your aspirational spirit. The Leader of the Opposition wants to rip away the incentives now available to you under the system. The Leader of the Opposition wants to take you back to the backwoods of industrial relations in this country, to a system that presided over more than a million Australians being without a job.

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