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

The legacy of the previous government in workplace relations was a system of laws which stripped away conditions and take-home pay of working Australians. The result was a legislative disaster that no amount of taxpayer funded advertising could persuade Australians otherwise than that it was unfair legislation, and it was condemned to the dustbin of history when those Australians could get to the election. Work Choices was about Australian workplace agreements that denied employees conditions and ensured that their basic rights and conditions would be stripped away.

We are reinstating a fair industrial relations system. We are ensuring that there will be a comprehensive safety net for employees dealing with wages and conditions which underpin agreement making. The system will embody the Australian value of the fair go all round and is based on our belief that economic prosperity and a decent standard of living for all go hand in hand. (Time expired)