Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth) Share this | Hansard source

If the members opposite think that increasing the unemployment queues is just, they should speak to those young Australians who, in the early 1990s, were the victims of the recession we had to have. They should speak to them about how their lives were altered and how their employment prospects and their ability to fulfil their potential were destroyed by the recession we had to have. The test of this bill is what it does for jobs. One can have all the protections in the world, but if you do not have an economic climate where businesses are willing to employ people then these protections count for nothing.

In the current climate of economic uncertainty, we remain concerned—and quite rightly so—at the prospects of rising unemployment in Labor’s environment of increased regulation for employers and heightened union control over workplaces. We should be rid of the days of a complex, outdated and completely arthritic industrial relations system. Flexibility is the key to modern workplaces. Just ask any working family out there what they really need, and they will tell you that flexibility is very high on the list.

The coalition understands that many in the electorate did not like the removal of the no disadvantage test that existed pre Work Choices, but the electorate certainly appreciated the wages growth, the employment opportunities and the flexibility that came with it. It is a giant leap of faith to suggest that those who may have objected to some aspects of Work Choices would necessarily wish for union domination in the workplace and a return to the economically reckless stances of the union movement in calling the shots in our workplaces. And herein lies the essential dilemma with this bill: it is really more about protecting the union movement from its inexorable decline than it is about the rights of workers and their right to a job and decent rates of pay. The government should not in any way be jeopardising the employment and welfare of Australian families and their incomes and livelihoods to repay the union movement with interest, but that is exactly what they are doing. We know the indebtedness of Labor to the unions, and this bill gives them what they want. If the unions cannot raise their membership levels beyond the current pathetic 14 per cent level of coverage in the private sector workforce, then nothing will. Labor may have talked tough on stamping out union thuggery and lawlessness, but this bill gives them what they want. They contributed more than $40 million to the Labor cause at the last election and now this bill is part of their reward.

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