Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I look across this chamber, what do I see? I see union hacks, sons and daughters of union hacks and union hacks that have worked for union hacks. Is it any wonder that I do not see one worker who has bent his back as have many workers on this side of the parliament? Is it any wonder that in 1996 the Australian people woke up to what the Labor Party stand for? It is anti workers, anti incentive and anti productivity. Is it any wonder they are out there making the statements that they are making today. Is it any wonder that their leader, Kim Beazley, has done an enormous backflip as a result of the pressure by his union mates? ‘Turn over on this legislation, Kim. Get these AWAs out of the workplace or you won’t be leader next week.’ The Leader of the Opposition does not have the intestinal fortitude that Australian people expect of a leader of a political party, and they will judge him on that at the next election.

You can live in hope, comrades, but I can tell you: you will still be in opposition after 2007, and you may still be in opposition for many years after that, because the Australian working class people—and I am one—understand what this government is about and what it has delivered to them as a people. They understand where this country has gone in the last 10 years and that the prosperity in this country has been brought about by the strong leader of this nation, the Hon. John Howard. I commend them for their commonsense.

Just before Christmas last year, members of the opposition condemned the government’s changes to the industrial relations system—an archaic system that has operated for over 100 years now—and said that Australian married couples would stop procreating and that there would be no more family barbecues—stupid rubbish like that. But what do we see? Birth rates are going up and there are more barbecues today than you would have seen in the last decade. So much for the irresponsible fearmongering by members of the ALP. The decisions that the government makes now—these are decisions that give me heart for my children, my grandchildren and, hopefully, for my great-grandchildren—will determine whether jobs growth and the increase in wages and living standards we have seen over the last decade will continue into the next decade.

Let me compare what has happened in the last decade to what happened in the previous 10 years of the Labor government. Since March 1996, the coalition has created more than 1.8 million jobs. More than three-quarters of all jobs created in the last two years have been full-time jobs. Under the previous Labor government, when Kim Beazley was Minister for Employment, Education and Training, unemployment reached a peak of 10.9 per cent, putting nearly one million Australians out of work. The unemployment rate under this government is now at a 30-year low of 4.9 per cent. Since the coalition was elected to office, unemployment has been reduced by 218,800, or 29.6 per cent.

Is it any wonder that private sector union membership is down to about 19 per cent? And is it any wonder that union membership in the public and private sectors combined is around 21 per cent? They are waking up to you guys in droves and moving out of the system. All this nonsense you are pushing into the public arena—you are willing to compromise your principles and your integrity and to lie to the Australian people to get back into government—is being absorbed by the Australian people, particularly by the working class people of this nation. They will react as they reacted a couple of elections ago to not only the former leader, Mark Latham, but also to your current leader.

The only good thing that the trade union movement has done is to give Kim Beazley a little bit of confidence to think that he has something to offer the Australian people. The only problem with that sort of mentality is that they have underestimated the intelligence of the Australian people, who know that Kim Beazley has absolutely nothing to offer them. He has no strength. He capitulates to the Australian Labor Party trade union movement when he is put under pressure.

A few minutes ago the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations mentioned a significant number of headlines appearing in the national media. An article on page 4 of today’s Australian Financial Review by Steven Scott is headed ‘Unions test Iemma over contract deals’. The Premier of New South Wales might get a shock at the polls in March next year. Hopefully, the New South Wales constituency have woken up to what he is about. The article stated:

The NSW government is under pressure to block companies that use Australian Workplace Agreements from winning government contracts after the state Labor Party conference endorsed calls for tougher procurement policies.

However, before speaking at the weekend conference, Premier Morris Iemma warned such a move could breach federal laws and would be difficult to enforce.

The current New South Wales Labor government has awarded a number of government contracts to companies, including Westpac, who are using AWAs in their workforce. The Labor premier has recognised that the AWAs are a workable alternative for businesses. The unions saying to him, ‘We are cocking the .45 pistol and putting it up against your head through the trade union movement. You had better change your attitude about giving contracts to these companies with AWAs or we are going to do to you what we have threatened to do to Kim Beazley. We will make sure we take you out as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party and we will put someone else in.’

That is the despicable, degrading level the once proud Labor Party has stooped to. My grandfather would be turning in his grave to know that the party that he used to be a member of and stand for has stooped to that level—deceiving and lying to the Australian people. But, more importantly, he would be disgusted—

See this speech in context