Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make a contribution on this important debate. I am pleased to rise in support of the Fair Work Bill 2008. I want to begin by congratulating the Deputy Prime Minister on the hard work that has gone into getting this bill into this place and also my colleagues on the important work they have done in preparing this legislation. This is a bill that reflects a modern Australia. It is a bill that restores the balance back into Australian workplaces. It is a bill that restores the rights of workers and flexibility for employers. The Fair Work Bill represents the Rudd Labor government delivering on yet another election commitment. This bill delivers on what we promised to the Australian people. They voted for change and a new industrial relations system. They wanted a future for their children and their grandchildren, a future that continues the Australian ethos of a fair go for all.

The Australian people knew that those opposite had gone too far with their successive waves of workplace reform. They knew it was time to put an end to the erosion of their rights. On this side of the House we listened to the Australian people because their concerns were real. They were concerned not only for their own working arrangements but also for their children and grandchildren’s future. They knew that Work Choices had swung the pendulum towards an ideology that did not sit well with them or the majority of Australians. People across the country were not prepared for the intensity of change and those opposite did not even have the courage to put their workplace reform to the Australian people. Work Choices was introduced by stealth.

On 2 November 2005 the then Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, the member for Menzies, introduced the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 into this place. In his speech he said the bill would:

… move Australia towards a flexible, simple and fair workplace relations system.

But we now know that this legislation was not flexible for workers, that it was highly complex and that it was extremely unfair. You only had to count the number of pages of material associated with the bill to gain an understanding of how complex those laws would be. There were 1,252 pages of legislation and 592 pages of explanatory material, regulations and supplementary materials. That is more than 1,800 pages in total.

The legislation was worse than anyone could have imagined. To put it bluntly, Work Choices was an appalling piece of legislation. In the government’s rush to force through their legislation they forgot about the impact it would have on Australian society. It was deceitful how they talked up the so-called ‘benefits’. Australian workers would be better off, they said; Australian workers would have more choice, they said; Australian workers would have better bargaining power, they said. In fact, the opposite was true. Working Australians learnt they would be forced to enter into a new industrial relations landscape that was foreign, complex, unfair and un-Australian. At the same time, their unfair dismissal laws were abolished. Working mums and dads learnt that without rhyme or reason they could be sacked—unfairly dismissed—for no reason or for ‘operational reasons’.

This legislation introduced many Australians to the notorious Australian workplace agreements, or AWAs. We all know about the many AWAs whereby hardworking men and women lost penalty rates, holiday pay, shift allowances and other entitlements that are expected in a fair and reasonable society. AWAs divided workplaces. The safety net that was in place to protect workers on minimum wages was pulled out from under them. They were left to bargain—to negotiate on their own through a complex web of legislation and regulations. Awards were stripped, the ability to enterprise bargain was diminished, AWAs became the preferred option for employment arrangements and the powers of the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission, were reduced immeasurably.

Around 10 months out from the 2007 election, the member for Menzies was replaced as workplace relations minister. It was then up to the member for North Sydney to sell Work Choices. The workplace laws had become somewhat of a lame duck. The Australian people had begun to see through the spin. The Australian people had the common sense and good judgement to understand that those opposite went too far. In fact, even after the election, the member for North Sydney confessed this and admitted to it publicly. One of the biggest mistakes those opposite made was to remove the no disadvantage test. This was a test to ensure that working Australians had access to a solid foundation of rights, that they were not worse off and that they were not exploited.

After five months or so, the alarm bells began to ring in the ears of those opposite. Their response was to drag the Australian people through another ‘tweaking’ of the Work Choices legislation. But they could not bear to bring back the no disadvantage test in its original form, so instead they introduced their so-called ‘fairness test’. At the time there was an immense amount of public pressure to return to some form of safety net, but by this stage it was too late and the Australian people wanted change. Real fairness was what they were after; real fairness is what we promised. Work Choices was soundly rejected on 24 November last year by the Australian people. They gave the Rudd government a mandate to introduce fairness back into the workplace.

One year on, the Rudd government has delivered on that promise made to the Australian people. This is what the Fair Work Bill represents. Our bill is about restoring balance and fairness. It will once again guarantee a safety net of minimum wages and employment conditions that cannot be stripped away. The bill provides a new framework for enterprise bargaining that is based on the notion of good faith bargaining. It provides less regulation regarding content of agreements; there will be a streamlined process for the approval of the agreements. The agreements must also pass the ‘better off overall test’. The Fair Work Bill provides a new scheme of unfair dismissal protections for a vast majority of employees. No longer do employees have to worry about being dismissed for any reason without rights to challenge the dismissal.

There will also be 10 National Employment Standards that cover weekly hours of work, requests for flexible working arrangements, parental leave, annual leave, personal leave, carers leave, compassionate leave, community service leave, long-service leave, public holidays and other matters. The National Employment Standards represent a modern industrial relations system. Compassionate leave has been extended to casual employees, the carers leave provision has been simplified and the number of paid carers leave days is no longer capped at 10 days per year. Reform measures such as these reflect our commitment to modern Australian working families. The new modern awards will cover 10 matters that will come into effect on 1 January 2010. They include minimum wages and classifications, types of employment, arrangements for when work is performed, overtime rates, penalty rates, annualised wages or salary arrangements, allowances, leave related matters and superannuation.

The bill provides for the establishment of Fair Work Australia. Fair Work Australia will act as a one-stop shop for information, advice and assistance on workplace issues by merging the functions currently performed across seven government agencies. Fair Work Australia will set minimum wages. It will have the ability to ensure good faith bargaining. It will be able to deal with industrial action, approve agreements and resolve disputes and matters of unfair dismissal.

It has been interesting to note the words and behaviour of those opposite since the introduction of this bill last week. They began with the Leader of the Opposition saying they would not oppose this bill, but we have learnt to watch what he does, not what he says, when it comes to policy. We have seen the members over there nodding in support of Work Choices and against this legislation. The truth we know is that the Liberal Party is still full of Work Choices believers and, if given half a chance, they would reintroduce it—or worse. They are not convincing the Australian public with their empty words, but rather people are watching and waiting on their actions.

I call on those opposite to support the millions of working Australian people who have proudly defended and earned their rights for more than a century. I call on those opposite to support this bill. This bill returns a balance to the industrial relations system that both protects Australian workers and provides flexibility for employers. I am proud of this bill and I know that many working families living in my seat of Franklin will be pleased that fairness and balance have been returned to their workplaces. I commend this bill to the House.

See this speech in context