Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moncrieff for his question and his interest in this. His question about international experiences reminds me that in 1997—in fact, on 9 September 1997—the then new Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair, made a famous address to the Trade Union Congress in that country in which he said, amongst other things:

You should remember in everything you do that fairness at work starts with the chance of a job ...

Very prophetic words from the Labour Prime Minister of Great Britain. Of course, this must be put in the context that at that stage it was predicted that, when Mr Blair first went to address the Trade Union Congress as the Prime Minister of the UK, he would go along and promise to rip up the industrial relations changes that had been put in place by the Thatcher government previously. Mr Blair had the ticker to stand up to the union leaders, who wanted to rip up the changes which had been put in place—something that ought to be a lesson for the Leader of the Opposition here in Australia. Indeed, if one looks at the experience in the UK since then, those changes, which Mr Blair was prepared to support in the face of opposition from the union movement, have led to more jobs and a lower unemployment rate in that country—indeed, a lower unemployment rate than exists in this country today. If one goes the 22 miles or so across the English Channel there is a totally different picture when one looks at what has happened in France and Germany, where there has been a failure of political will to make reforms in this area.

Last night Tony Blair gave what is expected to be his last address to the Trade Union Congress in the UK. During that address Mr Blair spoke about the strong labour market, which has continued in the UK as a result of those workplace reforms which, when he became Prime Minister, he refused to rip up in the face of calls from the union movement to do so. Indeed, I note in the press reports of Mr Blair’s speech to the Trade Union Congress overnight that he was heckled by some from the union movement. Several unionists walked out once again. The notable thing is that once again Tony Blair stood firm.

There is a lesson to be learnt in this about the sort of courage and fortitude that one should have in this regard, because strong leaders who are interested in delivering economic prosperity for their country do not cower and take their orders from the union movement like this man over here. What we have seen in the last few months is a capitulation by the Leader of the Opposition to Greg Combet and the union movement. The Deputy Prime Minister noted today that Greg Combet in effect said, ‘We are running the Labor Party again.’ Too right they are, because what they want to do is rip up the very mechanisms—

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