Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I am not sure who wrote because we cannot find it. The shadow Treasurer and the deputy Liberal leader said on unfair dismissals that the opposition would resist any move to turn back the clock. It would be very interesting to see if we can get an answer. Maybe it will come from the fourth question from the Leader of the Opposition on what his view is. An article by SmartCompany said of the shadow small business minister:

Opposing Labor’s plan to remove the unfair dismissal exemption for SMEs will be the first priority for new opposition small business spokesman Steven Ciobo.

The article went on to say:

Ciobo says any attempt by Labor to cut down the 100 employee threshold for exemption from unfair dismissal laws will receive his ‘absolute and confirmed opposition’.

So the truth is that as far as the coalition is concerned Work Choices is not dead; it is just resting, pining for the fjords. The Liberal Party was, is and always will be the party of Work Choices. The Rudd Labor government is the party of a fair, flexible and decent industrial relations system in this country.

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