Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

This legislation is about getting a focus on Work Choices, and I thank the Manager of Opposition Business for ensuring that there is a focus on Work Choices through his giving of that speech in this chamber just then. I thank the Manager of Opposition Business for focusing in on the fact that tomorrow we will be introducing legislation to get rid of Work Choices—and, yes, we want a focus on Labor’s legislation to get rid of Work Choices. But where the Manager of Opposition Business is wrong is that it is not about the Acting Prime Minister or any member on this side of the House. It is about the ordinary men and women who work in workplaces throughout Australia who want to get rid of Work Choices. That is what it is about. That is why we have consulted extensively on this legislation. We are bringing in this legislation to fulfil the commitment which we gave to working men and women in the last election campaign, and those opposite, particularly the former minister for Work Choices, just cannot move on. Those opposite remain attached to Work Choices. They remain ideologically committed to withdrawing the rights of ordinary working men and women throughout the nation.

Tomorrow will be a good day for the nation. It will be a good day for the House of Representatives when the Deputy Prime Minister introduces this legislation and there should be a complete focus on this legislation. We have been extremely cooperative with the opposition and I thank them for the fact that they are voting for this legislation.

We were asked this morning to put off the return of bills from the Main Committee because the Leader of the Opposition was speaking at the Press Club, and we did so. That is one more time than we received that courtesy when I sat in the position of the Manager of Opposition Business. What they used to do during those times was ensure that there used to be votes all the time on the basis of just inconveniencing for the sake of inconvenience. There can be no more pathetic example of that than the quorum that was called last week during Matt Price’s book launch.

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