Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

it is not a very smart move because these people have form. They have form; it is in their DNA. We know what they want. They actually call it 'flexibility'. They do not come in here to say, 'We want to cut working conditions' or 'We want to strip the minimum rates of pay,' but they do come and say: 'Look, for the productivity of the nation, we need flexibility.' The member for Mitchell over there, who is in the Prime Minister's pocket, was one of those who tried to urge the Prime Minister to get stuck into workers. They do not like the idea of 'We are not going to touch workers' pay and conditions' because they really have an agenda. They want to get back to where they were.

Just think about it: at the time they introduced WorkChoices there was exponential growth in one sector of our economy—senior executives' salaries. They were unrestricted and they went through the roof. They prefer to attack vulnerable workers—people on minimum rates of pay—and they made it legal to pay them below the minimum rate. That is what they did. As much as they whinge and bleat about it, they have history. If you want to be proud of that, put your hands up for that history

I know the population out there did not exactly see it the same way as that. Nail your colours to the mast! Be honest with yourselves! You are the party of Work Choices. It is your history. I know that more recently the Prime Minister had his minister for workplace relations, Senator Abetz, instigate a new Productivity Commission inquiry. What do you think he got them to do that inquiry on?

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