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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Given that the level of strikes and industrial disputes across Australia has increased sixfold since this government came to office, when will the Prime Minister stop watching the strikes and do something about them?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I indicated in responses to questions on industrial relations from the honourable member early in the week, the first thing that the country needs is the implementation of a fair and flexible industrial relations system. Secondly, the current level of industrial disputation occurs under the existing set of laws—otherwise called the continuation of those which we inherited from the previous government—which provide for recognised industrial action. The third point is that individual industrial negotiations—the content of those negotiations, the way in which they are conducted and the negotiating leverage—are affected by the overall supply and demand for labour and skilled labour in the economy. If you fail to invest over such a long period of time in an effective skills policy for the economy, it has a direct impact on the labour market.

I would suggest to those opposite that, if they were genuinely seriously concerned about advancing the debate on the supply of skilled labour to the Australian workforce and its direct consequence on the conduct of industrial negotiations, it would have been wiser for them to have paid close attention to the 20 warnings they received from the Reserve Bank on the question of investment in skills and infrastructure to deal with long-term inflationary challenges.

When those opposite respond with such feigned outrage on this question, I draw their attention to a long perusal of the Reserve Bank documents over a long period of time where one after another those warnings were made. Had they acted on that and acted on infrastructure, not only would it have had an effect on long-term inflationary pressures in the economy, which is the burden of the Reserve Bank’s advice, but, in terms of the specific matter raised by the honourable member for Curtin, it would have been of material relevance as well.