Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise today to speak in the Senate in response to the Governor-General’s address at the opening of the 42nd Parliament. On 24 November 2007, the Australian people voted for a change of government. They voted out the Howard government to embrace the fresh ideas of Kevin Rudd and the Australian Labor Party. The Liberal government and their Work Choices legislation undoubtedly contributed to the election result. There is no denying that the Work Choices legislation was an attack on Australian working families, and that is the view that the Australian community took when they cast their vote. I can certainly testify that that was very evident throughout my home state of Tasmania.

The legislation meant that parents spent less time with their children and that Australian workers and working families had no financial security. Workers were forced to work more hours just to put food on the table and to try to pay their bills. With spiralling petrol, childcare, housing and grocery costs, the cost of living was getting out of control. Yet our previous Prime Minister, John Howard, insisted, ‘Australian families have never been better off.’ In saying this, he demonstrated just how out of touch and arrogant his government was. Interestingly, his views have not changed in recent speeches he has been giving overseas. I am still unsure as to where the coalition actually now stand—some agree and some do not—but the reality is that they have not listened to the Australian community and their views have ultimately not changed. The previous government were irresponsible and Australians expressed their disappointment in the Liberal Party loud and clear on 24 November 2007.

Under John Howard’s Work Choices laws, workers could be put on AWAs with just five minimum conditions. There was more power for employers to dictate working hours and workers had to negotiate conditions like overtime pay, penalty rates, public holidays and annual leave entitlements. John Howard promised that his industrial relations system would be simple, fair and flexible. It was not. It caused mass confusion for workers and employers alike. John Howard promised in television ads, newspapers and booklets which cost the Australian taxpayers millions of dollars that overtime and penalty rates would be protected by law. Once again, that was not the case.

On the point of Work Choices advertising, Ms Julia Gillard, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations—