Mark Baker (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the Australian government’s Work Choices reforms. With the commencement of these important and necessary reforms, we are witnessing an increasingly personal and misleading campaign by Labor aligned unions. Labor and the unions are becoming desperate because they know, as time goes by, Australians will realise that all the scaremongering and prophesies of doom and gloom are just a lot of hot air. Paid union officials are doing the bidding of the Labor Party and not their members. Some unions are even using the Australian government’s reforms as a cynical exercise to increase their membership fees. Every extra dollar they rip out of Australian workers will no doubt find its way into the Labor Party’s coffers.

I am not dissuaded by the increasingly grubby tactics that are occurring out in the marketplace. I supported these reforms because they were in the best interests of Australian workers and the Australian community. Many times I have asked the Labor Party and the union movement why an employer would want to sack a valued employee whom they have spent time and money training and developing. Surprisingly, the only reply I have had is silence—absolute silence! Labor and the unions simply cannot answer that question.

On the front page of today’s Australian newspaper, a respected small business man from my electorate has spoken in favour of the government’s reforms. Mr John White, owner of Delta Hydraulics, a successful business in Devonport, has spoken to me on many occasions. I have been aware of his frustrations and those of many other employers throughout my electorate. Mr White’s comment that unfair dismissal laws have been like a gun in the hands of underperforming employees demonstrates why our reforms are so necessary. According to Mr White, Delta Hydraulics has its problems, as do other workplaces, with employees arriving at work under the influence of alcohol and marijuana and going off the rails because of personal relationship issues. I know that his case is not unique and I am sure that employers not only in my electorate but around Australia would have similar stories to tell.

Employers have rightly complained for some years that, if they sacked a worker, no matter how good their reason and no matter how many chances they may have given that worker, they would still be forced to deal with an unfair dismissal case. The cost of defending such cases would run into thousands of dollars and there was no way an employer could recoup that cost. As a result, most employers either paid out sacked workers or decided against putting themselves in the position of having to deal with an unfair dismissal claim by not dismissing a problem employee in the first place.

Before the Australian government’s reforms were implemented, employers like Mr White just had to put up with workers who did not perform and, in some cases, were dangerous and disruptive influences in the workplace. Not only is that situation unfair for employers; it is also totally unfair for other workers. Too often we forget that other employees are also the victims of the poor attitudes and work ethics of a few. Labor and the unions have forgotten about the majority of workers whose jobs and, in some cases, personal safety are often placed at risk by a few dangerous, disruptive or otherwise underperforming employees. The majority of employees who do the right thing by their employers should not have to put up with a small number of workers who seem to think that, once they have a job, they can do and behave as they like.

The Australian government’s reforms are about putting the power back in the hands of employers, where it belongs, so that they can make the necessary decisions to keep their businesses viable. Mr White is among a vast majority of reasonable employers. He is tolerant and forgiving of genuine mistakes and believes in giving all employees a fair go. The vast majority of employers want to grow their businesses and employ more staff, and that is why the Australian government has removed the noose of unfair dismissal laws from around the necks of small businesses.

It is not rocket science to realise that employers are the ones that develop and create businesses, and they should be given a fair go to run their businesses, to make a profit and to create a future for their existing employees.