Kym Richardson (Kingston, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I unconditionally withdraw the word ‘lie’. I think that Mr Paul Starick, a very good journalist from the Adelaide Advertiser, summed it up best when he said in an article on Wednesday:

In his private dreams, Kim Beazley must be hoping for an economic downturn and substantial job losses.

I think Mr Starick hit the nail right on the head. He must know the Leader of the Opposition well because he has discovered that this is a man who would rather see Australian workers on the dole line and suffering from a poor economy, like they were when he was in the Labor government, in order to better his own political ambitions. If Labor are elected next year, Mr Beazley would undoubtedly get his wish because we all know their record on economic management.

The timing of this MPI is interesting. When I was at Edge Church on Sunday I spoke to a young couple with a small business within my electorate. We had an interesting conversation with respect to their staff and the industrial relations reforms. Since the introduction of the new laws, their workforce has gone from eight staff members to 14. They pay staff above the award and receive loyalty and flexibility from employees who are rewarded with opportunities. There are other examples such as the Subway franchises, particularly in Sydney. An owner there provides flexibility in work hours for two single mums, parents, university students and the disability sector. These are true stories to come out of the IR changes. These are not made up. The facts are not twisted like those we hear from the Labor Party. These are true stories, but we will not hear true stories like these coming from the Labor Party because, again, you cannot scare people if you tell the truth about reforms. (Time expired)

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