Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It comes as no surprise to the government side of the chamber that, of the 28 senators, many of us had a very colourful, rewarding and distinguished career in the union movement—and none more so than you, Mr Deputy President, me and Senator McEwen. I rise to take note of answers to questions today. I absolutely welcome the opportunity to talk about industrial relations with the opposition. I find it unbelievable that senators on that side of the chamber dare come in here and preach to us about Australia’s working families, their working conditions, skills shortages and the conditions which they are employed under.

How hypocritical of the conservative side of the chamber! They come in here and they preach to us about how worse off Australian working families will be under a Labor government. Like your good selves, Senator McEwen and Senator Wortley, I have seen the ugly side of conservative politics and the ugly side of the Howard-Costello industrial relations regime; namely—I should not mention it, Mr Deputy President, but I will—Work Choices. What a wonderful history you will have with the words Work Choices. I do not blame senators opposite getting up and slinking out of the chamber, because if I had voted for Work Choices I would slink out of the chamber. In fact, I would have slunk under my seat. Not one of them stood up and spoke against Work Choices. Like a bunch of cows they just followed their leader, all nodding in agreeance: how wonderful Work Choices would be for Australian working families.

Well, ding-a-ling-a-ling! In November last year, the Australian people spoke and firmly killed off Work Choices. So how dare you come into this chamber and lecture us about what we should be doing for working families, when we introduced 10 National Employment Standards—no less than 10. I could say it is 10 because there is one for each interest rate rise under the Howard government, but 10 is just a number that rolls off the tongue quite easily. Not only did we introduce fairness and balance in the Australian workplace and industrial relations scene, but we were rewarded. We were rewarded with an absolute majority vote to tip out the Howard-Costello regime and bury unfair and unjust industrial relations legislation forever.

I have the privilege of being a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and we received numerous submissions. About 129 submissions were put to the committee. We then travelled around Australia with our chair, Senator Gavin Marshall, and others to hear from employers, employees and interested community groups about what would add to a fair and balanced system, not the rubbish that we had in those last three years especially coming through this chamber. But what did come out of it was that the balance was tipped firmly in favour of rogue employers. Not good employers—and there are a lot of good employers in Australia—but rogue employers who could use those disgraceful laws to absolutely bastardise Australian working conditions and absolutely bastardise—