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

What I was saying about the things that the government said in this place during the course of question time today, yesterday and also outside this place—and the Minister for Transport has made this very clear—is that the prospect of Qantas locking out its staff and immediately grounding its aircraft was not raised with the government. It was notified to the government on Saturday. As a result of the notification on Saturday the government took the action which caused the industrial dispute to come to an end so that Qantas planes could get back in the sky, and they have been back in the sky since yesterday afternoon.

We do understand that the opposition has a different view from us about this. We are in the world of industrial relations balance, of looking after the interests of employers and employees, of caring about the travelling public. We are in the world of competently managing when there is disputation and bringing it to an end. The opposition is in the world of not criticising Qantas, of not being concerned at all about the travelling public, of always denying the rights of working people and of doing whatever it is told to do by employers. That was its track record in government and it continues to be its track record in opposition. And I know that the Leader of the Opposition has been disappointed in the past few days. The only people in Australia unhappy when Fair Work Australia ended industrial action were the members of the Liberal Party sitting opposite. The only people in Australia unhappy when the Reserve Bank announced its interest rate cut were the members opposite. You could see the disappointment written all over their faces.

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