Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the claims, reported today, by the National Secretary of the CFMEU that the union will ignore the government’s calls for wage restraint and seek pay rises well in excess of inflation and not based on productivity gains. Given the concerns of the Reserve Bank about the potential for a wages break-out, will the Treasurer guarantee there will be no wages break-out of the kind that drove the economy into recession under the previous Labor government and left one million Australians unemployed?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. Many years ago, far-sighted governments put in place enterprise bargaining, where wage rises were linked directly to productivity at the workplace level. And that is the policy of the Rudd Labor government. That is the fair and balanced system that we are going to put into place, a fair system where all participants in the system must adhere to the law. That is the policy of the Rudd Labor government. But it is so ironic today that we should receive these questions from those opposite, because only last year they looked the Australian people in the eye and they told them Work Choices was something they fundamentally believed in. They told the Australian people it was the secret to economic success in the future. They told the Australian people it was the key to productivity.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition asked a specific question about the words from the National Secretary of the CFMEU about the fact that that union is ignoring the government’s claims about wage restraint and is going for wages well in excess of inflation. If the Treasurer is not able to answer the question, we can get someone who can.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Treasurer has the call.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite do not know whether they are Arthur or Martha when it comes to Work Choices. They simply have not got a clue. They have not got a clue because they have not got a plan to fight inflation. They do not have a plan to fight inflation at all. They put all their policy power into the Work Choices basket and, for political expediency, they threw it overboard yesterday, leaving them with no plan for the future. Well, the Rudd Labor government has a plan for the future, and it includes a fair and balanced industrial relations system, one which will be based on productivity to create wealth well into the future.