Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Collins for her question in relation to the government delivering on its election promises, set out in the policy Forward with Fairness. The Rudd government is delivering on its commitment to creating a fair, flexible and transparent workplace relations system that achieves the right balance between employers and employees. The new workplace relations system will ensure Australia is competitive and prosperous without undermining workplace rights and guaranteed minimum standards.

The Rudd government is throwing out the previous government’s extreme Work Choices laws, which were rejected by the Australian people at the last election. We are introducing a new system with fairer laws that balance the needs of employees, the unions and employers, a system that ensures all employers and employees have access to transparent, clear and simple information on rights and responsibilities, that gives Australian employers confidence with a simple, fair dismissal system for small business, that protects employees by outlining clear minimum wages and by assisting low-paid and vulnerable employees and, of course, that ensures employees’ freedom of association within the workplace.

The Rudd government is fixing the damage caused to Australian workers and Australian workplaces by the former Howard government. We are delivering on a system that will allow employers to get on with growing their businesses and will allow employees to get on with their jobs. The government’s new workplace relations laws will get the balance right by providing a strong safety net for employees, by promoting workplace flexibility and by creating a new bargaining system backed by good faith bargaining rules and tough sanctions against unprotected industrial action. And, of course, it will bring more Australians into the bargaining process and provide strong but simple protections against unfair dismissals. In complete contrast to the former Liberal government, the Rudd government has engaged in an unprecedented level of consultation. (Time expired)