John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I will come to the question—calm down; don’t get too excited!—of cost in a moment. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition referred to this as a multimillion dollar PR campaign. Let me read the substance of one of the advertisements. This is what it says:

Australia’s workplace relations system has a set of rules and obligations that all employers are required, by law, to comply with.

That is a pure statement of fact. It goes on to say:

No-one can be forced to sign an agreement.

a pure statement of fact—

And any agreement signed by an employee aged under 18 must also be signed by a parent or guardian.

That is a pure statement of fact. It goes on:

Other obligations include:

·          Minimum wages

·          Working hours

·          Four weeks paid annual leave.

I thought that the minimum wages was the one that was omitted. That was the 11th tablet that came down from the mount. It continues:

·          Ten days paid sick leave.

·          One year unpaid maternity or paternity leave.

There is no PR in that; they are just pure statements of fact. Then it goes onto say:

The Workplace Authority will check agreements against a Fairness Test to make sure you get a fair deal.

Another statement of fact.

If an agreement doesn’t pass the Fairness Test, it will need to be changed so that it is fair and the employer will have to make up any back pay.

That is a terrible thing to tell people about, isn’t it? It says:

For more details, use the Workplace Infoline or the web site.

The deputy asked whether I can confirm evidence in the Senate. I will have a look at the evidence. Many times bitten, many times shy. The opposition are past masters at saying, ‘Will you confirm such-and-such, which was said by somebody on such-and-such an occasion?’ I will have a look at what was said in the Senate and if I can issue any confirmation I will.

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