Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly welcome this matter of public importance debate and the Australian Labor Party’s new-found interest in productivity and productivity growth. It seems to me quite strange that we have got an opposition here that have opposed us every step of the way. They have opposed tax reform; they have opposed industrial relations reform. Whatever it is that we put up, nine times out of 10 there they are—the carping, whingeing, whining opposition—opposing it.

We introduced the workplace relations reform and the sky was going to fall in. All the Chicken Littles on that side of the parliament were scurrying around, ruffling their feathers. ‘The sky is falling, the sky is falling,’ they were saying. There would be mass sackings, there would be mass industrial disputes, wages would fall, there would be no more barbecues, unemployment would soar. You name it, it was going to happen under the workplace relations reforms of this government. What has happened? The result has been very different. Since Work Choices was introduced, we have seen the creation of some 240,000 jobs. And to that we hear the member for Swan—sorry, the member for Lilley. I should not be so—

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