Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party are making exaggerated claims about our Work Choices legislation, but the one thing we do know is that their latest foray into policy announcement has been discredited by the business community and by those who study these issues through the media. They have even been discredited, if not threatened, by some of their own supporters.

The much touted Work choices: a race to the bottom task force report was released by the member for Gorton, whom I must say is a decent bloke. At least he does not resort to the antics of the stunt man on the frontbench, the member for Perth. The member for Gorton puts forward arguments, and he follows those arguments, rather than resorting to stunts. Unfortunately for the member for Gorton, the task force report should be discredited.

The Leader of the Opposition, the member for Brand, and the member for Gorton went out to the media yesterday and said that the business community is against the industrial relations changes. Mr Beazley said in today’s paper:

Members of the ALP task force had been surprised to learn many small businesses do not support the Work Choices regime. They did not like the idea of a race to the bottom in wages.

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