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

And Deputy Prime Minister. She is a woman, so she has many jobs! She revealed on 19 February this year that almost 100,000 Work Choices computer mouse pads together with more than 436,000 Work Choices booklets were stashed away by the previous Liberal government prior to the last election. It was good to see they had their priorities right! Australian taxpayers have been forking out $930 per month to store this Liberal government’s Work Choices propaganda. This was part of the propaganda Australian taxpayers had already forked out $121 million for, thanks to the previous Liberal government. And they lecture us about economics and financial management! My constituents in Tasmania were not very pleased to hear that their taxes were being used in this irresponsible way. The Liberal Party’s motto was: spend, spend, spend whatever it takes, as long as we win.

I am pleased to note on this occasion, though, that Ms Julie Bishop, the shadow minister for employment, business and workplace relations, issued a media statement on 7 February this year saying that people should have the right to union representation in their employment negotiations. Unions under Work Choices have in some circumstances been unable to talk directly to their members in the workplace, which is something that I consider important in allowing unions to fulfil their role as representatives of workers. Ultimately, the Howard government exploited Australian workers. I do not think there is any dispute about that. They knew that the Work Choices legislation would have a devastating effect on Australian families, but they pushed the legislation through regardless. I might just add that Senator Barnett, from my home state, who has recently been lecturing us and espousing his views about us needing to be a caring government, was one of those people who sat in this chamber and participated in pushing that legislation through.

The previous government tried to fool Australians by changing the name of their workplace relations reforms. But the Australian people did not fall for this ploy. They knew what John Howard was about and they voted accordingly. The Liberals filled our letterboxes with glossy brochures, trying to convince us that Work Choices was a good thing. But, once again, Australians were not fooled. Never take the Australian workers for granted. Do not believe your own rhetoric is my message to the opposition now. Australians realised that they were not getting a fair deal, and I hope that those on the other side of the chamber now recognise that they must indeed listen to the people they represent. But, to date, the evidence is that they are still not listening and that they are still not prepared to admit that they were wrong.

Despite desperate attacks from the Howard government since the Work Choices legislation was introduced, Labor has always maintained its belief that this country should have a fairer, simpler and more balanced workplace relations system. The Rudd Labor government is committed to restoring balance in the workplace. Labor recognises that Australians are hard workers. Australians have worked hard to ensure the prosperity of our nation and to ensure their children have a better standard of living than they had. All workers ask for is fair treatment—a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. But under the Howard government this right was denied. Australians have always held a strong belief in the importance of fairness at work and they know that only a Labor government will stand up for their rights in the workplace. The Rudd government is committed to building a modern workplace relations system that balances flexibility for employers with fairness for employees. A flexible and a fair workplace relations system is critical to building a competitive economy that delivers for Australian workers.

The government’s plan for the future of Australia’s workplace relations system will encourage wages and conditions to be negotiated at the enterprise level. We believe all Australian employees are entitled to a safety net of 10 national employment standards. We believe employees earning less than $100,000 are also entitled to an extra safety net provided by modern, simple awards. The Office of the Employment Advocate, now known as the Workplace Authority, conducted a survey which showed the following results with respect to Work Choices legislation. It was found that leave loadings were removed from 64 per cent of AWAs, penalty rates were removed from 63 per cent of AWAs, shift loadings were removed from 52 per cent, and in 16 per cent of all cases all award conditions were removed. These shocking statistics show just how unfair and unjust the Howard government’s legislation was. I believe Australians do not have to choose between economic prosperity and fair treatment at work. Australians can have both. Australian workers deserve both. Australians deserve to have the best system, the fairest system, that will protect their rights at work and also ensure that their families are able to balance their work and home lives. Labor’s industrial relations policy, Forward with Fairness, ensures that this happens

In April last year, the ALP published the Forward with Fairness workplace relations policy and confirmed that, if elected, we would abolish Australian workplace agreements. In August last year we released our Forward with Fairness policy implementation plan, which reiterated Labor’s commitment to abolish Australian workplace agreements. It also set out sensible transitional arrangements a Rudd Labor government would adopt for implementing this key commitment. This policy makes it clear that, when Labor’s workplace relations system is fully operational, there will be no AWAs.

The Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill 2008 begins the process of phasing out the Howard-Costello government’s extreme and unfair Work Choices law in favour of a fairer, more productive and flexible workplace relations system. It has been developed following extensive consultation with employer organisations, unions and state and territory ministers. The government understands that to create a simple, fair, flexible and productive workplace relations system, we must talk with employers, employees and those who will play a role in our new workplace relations system.

The Rudd Labor government will create a new industrial relations system for a modern Australian economy and modern Australian workplaces. Labor’s system will be a simple one: we will work with the states for a single, uniform national system for the private sector and economic reform the Howard government was never able to achieve. We will reduce the rules and regulations about what can be included in the agreements so that employers and employees will be able to talk and bargain about what suits them. And we will have a new accessible, impartial, independent umpire, Fair Work Australia, which offers a simple, one-stop shop service.

Labor’s system will be a fairer system. Labor is committed to ensuring that the minimum wage is set by Fair Work Australia in an open and transparent process that considers the needs of Australian working families, particularly the low paid, and the needs of the Australian economy. We will also have a clear and decent safety net of legislated conditions and industry awards so that employers and employees can easily understand their rights and obligations at work. The Labor government, unlike the previous government, recognises the needs of both employers and businesses and is committed to striking the right balance. This was something the former Liberal government showed no interest in. The former Liberal government were only concerned about catering for the needs of big business at the expense of Australian workers and their families.

The people opposite me in the chamber supported and voted for John Howard’s unfair legislation. They argued for more than 12 months that Work Choices was fair, even though they knew it was having a devastating effect on Australian workers. I am pleased to say on this occasion that the former industrial relations minister, Joe Hockey, now admits the laws went too deep. In fact, recently on the television program Four Corners Mr Hockey confirmed what we all knew on this side, and that is that his own cabinet colleagues were unaware of the actual impact that these conditions were going to have on Australian families. Can you believe that? Members of the cabinet at that time were unaware of one of the most devastating pieces of legislation that has come through this chamber.