Debate resumed from 18 June, on motion by Senator Colbeck:

That this bill be now read a second time.

upon which Senator Wong had moved by way of amendment:

At the end of the motion, add “but the Senate condemns the Government’s lack of honesty about:

        (a)    its plans for extreme industrial relations laws before the last election;

        (b)    the impact of its inherently unfair Work Choices laws, including the way these laws have:

              (i)    caused the pay and conditions of individuals on Australian Workplace Agreements to be cut;

             (ii)    allowed good workers to be dismissed for no reason at all;

            (iii)    placed an unprecedented paperwork burden on small businesses; and

            (iv)    destroyed the independent industrial umpire;

        (c)    the cost of the taxpayer-funded polling research which apparently led the Government to dropping the term ‘Work Choices’ and bringing this bill to the Senate;

        (d)    the magnitude of the taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to promote the Government’s political spin on industrial relations;

        (e)    the fact that this bill leaves Australians still overwhelmingly exposed to the harshness of Work Choices; and

         (f)    its intention to legislate even harsher laws if re-elected”.