Judith Troeth (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pride that I stand up today to talk about the Workplace Relations Amendment (A Stronger Safety Net) Bill 2007. Contrary to what has been put forward by both Senator Siewert and Senator Murray, this new fairness test will enhance the safety net for over 7.5 million Australians making workplace agreements. It will allow employers and employees to modify or to exclude protected award conditions but only where employees are fairly compensated. This particular bill guarantees employees fair compensation in lieu of conditions such as penalty rates, overtime and shift loadings. There is also additional protection for vulnerable employees, including young people and workers from a non-English-speaking background.

I would like to take issue with Senator Murray when he mentioned that, in the original Work Choices legislation passed in December 2005, and in this bill as well, coalition senators made no move to amend or ameliorate some of the conditions that we thought needed fixing. You may remember, Madam Acting Deputy President Crossin, that coalition senators—and, I will say, along with Labor senators—held extensive consultations with the department to see that outworkers were not disproportionately dealt with under the original legislation. I have also gone to particular trouble to check out that, in this legislation, their conditions of work will be looked at so they do not suffer any detriment. Indeed, government senators have made several recommendations as a result of the committee hearings which deal with some of the issues brought up by Senator Murray. But I might leave those remarks till later on.

This bill will reassure Australian workers that, when they enter into a workplace agreement, it will be a fair one that has been approved by an independent statutory authority. It builds on the important employment and workplace relations reforms that were undertaken by this government in 1996 and again in 2006. This is a bill that obviously has looked at the original Work Choices legislation one year on and then decided to make appropriate changes in the areas where it thought changes needed to be made. It is a matter of evolution, not revolution.

The system that is now working under the original Work Choices legislation and this bill has helped reduce unemployment to a rate of 4.4 per cent. It has created more than two million jobs over the past 11 years, no matter what Senator Murray says, and it has ensured that a record high 10.4 million Australians are in work. What we want to do is make sure that this country’s future economic prosperity is bolstered by a flexible and modern workplace relations system. We establish in this bill two independent statutory offices which will play pivotal roles in maintaining the safety net. The fairness test is to be applied by the Workplace Authority to ensure that workplace agreements provide that fair compensation. And the Workplace Ombudsman will ensure that employers comply with their legal obligations with regard to the fairness test. The Workplace Ombudsman will also strengthen the policing role that has been undertaken previously by the Office of Workplace Services.

No matter which way you look at it, and no matter which yardstick you use, in every area of economic activity this government has provided exceptional growth, exceptional productivity and exceptional benefits to workers. Look at jobs growth. Since March 1996, two million jobs have been created and 85 per cent of all jobs created have been full time, giving the lie to the story that has been established by the Labor Party and other parties that many of those jobs have been part time.