Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

preserving the existing interaction rules between transitional instruments and state and territory laws; and provision for a review of the first three years of operation of the new unfair dismissal system. Apparently there is some interest in one of those amendments, but obviously, since both the government and the opposition voted for the government’s first piece of workplace relations legislation, which started the award modernisation journey, there has been an event of some significance in global markets. It is called the global recession. Liberal Party members opposite may choose to think about that.

Beyond those amendments there are a small number of amendments to the Fair Work Act also being moved by the government in this bill, including modification to the definition of ‘named employer award’ to ensure that employees that are covered by these awards will retain their entitlements if the award transfers to a new employer; and the addition of a further clause in the objects of the act that acknowledges the special circumstances of small- and medium-sized employers. I commend the amendments and the bill to the House.

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