Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. How are the government's policies building better and fairer workplaces while making sure the pay and conditions of working people are protected? Minister, are there any obstacles to this?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I know that he is very committed to a fair go all round at work.

In the election on September 14 there will be a choice between two different sets of policies about the future of Australian workplaces and good jobs. There is one choice—the Labor way—where people can expect and deserve good jobs. We see that happening every day in Australia, with fairer and better laws under the Fair Work Act. I am pleased to report to the House that labour productivity has been up—not for one quarter, not two quarters, not three quarters—for seven quarters in a row. I am pleased to report that last Thursday, the April unemployment numbers fell. An fact, in April, there were more men and women in Australia working full-time than ever in the history of Federation.

I am also pleased to report that under the 5½ years of Labor, industrial action lost time has fallen and has been substantially lower than the 11 years of the Liberal period beforehand. I am also pleased to report that wage growth is reasonable. So there you have it. That is the Labor choice: productivity up, jobs up, industrial action down and wages moving reasonably.

I am asked if there is another choice, another set of policies. Last Thursday, after pressure, the Liberal Party revealed a bit of a sticky taped together, stapled set of press releases from employer groups and proudly brandished it as a workplace relations policy. I do congratulate the opposition policy for being classic, textbook small target: say nothing—or nearly nothing. Hope that we can say and do nothing, even though some of the hard-line right-wingers behind the Leader of the Opposition want to let loose. They want to sneak into office as they did in 2004—by not telling anyone anything.

Unfortunately, Liberal Party policy does let the cat out of the proverbial bag. Unfair individual contracts are back with a bullet under the Liberals. They are now proposing—I love this, I do not know who dreamed it up, but they deserve a medal for idiocy—to make law that you can swap your hourly pay for non-monetary benefits. Why didn't we think of that? What a great idea! What you can now do is take a pay cut if you vote Liberal. Fantastic! But it goes further than that. Unfair individual contracts are in the Liberal Party DNA. Look how happy other people are. The Liberals are saying that there is nothing here to see. Why did the Australian Retailers Association today come out and say, 'Good on the Liberal Party of Australia, because we can get our teeth into penalty rates'? Indeed, I have to respect the honesty of the oracle from Goldstein, because on the radio today, as the oracle does— (time expired)