Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women’s Issues. I refer the minister to the Women and WorkChoices: impacts on the low pay sector report released today. In particular, I refer the minister to the case study of Leanne, a fast-food worker with five dependent children. The report states:

Leanne formerly managed a fast food outlet. She was dismissed from her employer, a company managing employment for over 50 employees across several franchises, without reason ... the dismissal came as a complete shock to Leanne ... Leanne was forced to take virtually the first job she could—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I refer you to the House of Representatives Practice, and your further rulings in accordance with that, that long preambles, such as we are hearing, are out of order. I would ask you to direct the member in that way.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Chisholm will come to her question.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leanne was forced to take virtually the first job she could get which was only casual work with her hours varying between 18 and 30 per week. How can the government say that working families in Australia have never been better off when this could happen today to a hardworking mother and be legal under Work Choices?

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. I am aware of this report. It was a very small sample—121 women were interviewed for this report. Some of the stories were clearly distressing to read and I would suggest that these people should take their stories to the Workplace Ombudsman if in fact they are the case. I also notice that this survey was done before the Australian government introduced the fairness test. There is a very important political point to make here: the fact is that, since the Howard government came to office, more than a million women have obtained work in Australia. Over a million women now have a job—

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Owens interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta is warned.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

about 515,000 of those are full-time jobs and about 578,000 are part-time jobs. Women have more choice, more opportunities and more flexibility in the workplace than ever before.

Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I’ll show you cases in my electorate—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fowler has been warned. She continues to interject. The member for Fowler will remove herself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Fowler then left the chamber.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is also another point I want to make here—that is, that a million Australian women now have a job under the Howard government. Remember that back in 1992 under Labor there were a million people unemployed; since we have been in government a million women have been able to get a job. There is also another point I want to make and that is that the Labor Party seems to be engaged in its own series of extreme makeovers. You have the Leader of the Opposition who is now trying to appear as a fiscal conservative.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order to do with relevance. This is about unfair dismissal laws which have not changed—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The member will be aware that there was a rather lengthy question there. The minister is in order. I call the minister.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have the Labor Party undertaking these extreme makeovers. You have the Leader of the Opposition doing glossy ads declaring he is a fiscal conservative to distract attention from the fact that over the last nine years he has voted against every single fiscally conservative reform in this House. You have the Deputy Leader of the Opposition doing her glossy photo shoots to distract attention from the fact that under her industrial relations policies, the Australian economy would go backwards—

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Women are getting dismissed.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister will resume her seat. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is also warned. The minister has the call. The minister will be heard.

Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was so concerned about working women, what about Cassie? Have you called her back recently? While we have the Labor Party desperately trying to distract people’s attention from their policies, we have independent economists telling us that under Labor the economy will go backwards and 300,000 jobs will be at risk because of the harsh reality of their industrial relations laws. Interest rates will go up 1.4 per cent and the economy will suffer if Labor were ever to get into government. The industrial relations laws that this government has introduced have ensured that nearly 300,000 jobs have been made available for working families in Australia since Work Choices was introduced.

Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Would the minister inform the House how a modern workplace relations system is helping to foster employment and sustainable wage growth? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I note that there is no doubt that turning back the clock on the government’s workplace relations reforms would have a negative impact on Australian families. It would have a dire impact on inflation, interest rates and unquestionably housing affordability. The independent construction watchdog found through an independent report released last month that housing would be three per cent more expensive if the Labor Party were elected into government and inflation would be one per cent higher.

Only last week, an independent report commissioned by small business found interest rates would be 1.4 per cent higher if the government’s workplace relations reforms were rolled back by the Labor Party. Yesterday, the head of the Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout, said that interest rates would be higher if a centralised and fixed workplace relations system was introduced. So it is not hard to understand that under the Labor Party it is likely that interest rates will go up higher than anything under this government and, significantly, more than 300,000 jobs would be lost and it would be much harder for working Australians.

There was speculation today in a national newspaper that the Labor Party would change their policy. Heather Ridout said yesterday on Meet the Press that she was looking forward to the Labor Party’s industrial relations policy mark 2. I thought to myself: will the Labor Party change their policy? I think it is highly unlikely they will. The Labor Party are totally captured by the union bosses.

I was surfing YouTube today—for a brief moment during my morning tea break—and I came across an interesting photo from the ETU. It has Mike Symon, the Labor Party candidate for Deakin; Kevin Harkins, the now disgraced candidate for Franklin; Dean Mighell, the disgraced leader of the ETU; and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. There is Dean Mighell with the three stooges. What we can glean from this information on YouTube—and I am happy to table that photograph—is that the Labor Party remains built, owned and operated by the union bosses, the Dean Mighells, the Kevin Harkins. We hear today that Joe McDonald is going to be defiant in remaining in the Labor Party. Do you remember the Leader of the Opposition saying it was a zero tolerance policy? Joe McDonald has new allegations against him and the response of the Labor Party is: ‘We’ll have to put back his suspension from the Labor Party to February next year.’ Joe McDonald is still in the Labor Party wearing his ‘no ticket no start’ braces.

As for the new ETU candidate for Deakin, they are all fingers on the same hand—the hand that wants to reach into the pocket of working Australian families; the hand that is going to deliver control of the Labor Party to the union bosses. The Labor Party is built, owned and operated by the union bosses. The more evidence we see and hear proves it yet again: they will be controlled by the people who want to control every workplace, and that is very bad for Australian working families.