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

I will answer in part some of the wild allegations made by Senator Abetz. The straw-man reasoning that was being put forward was quite extraordinary. The circumstances are these: we as a government place on the public record that the minister will amend the award modernisation request to make clear that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission can include safety net terms where they exist—that is, in New South Wales—but not otherwise. That means that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission can include safety net terms in New South Wales and not otherwise. To go on from that, it is a matter for the AIRC what those safety net terms are.

Senator Abetz, or the opposition, says that I should know about a whole range of things and that they are corrupt—that is what Senator Abetz was articulating. I am a little bit more careful with my words. I would say that if you were going to make those allegations—which are allegations—you would need to at least have personal knowledge of the facts of the matter before making them. I do not. Even if I had such personal knowledge, they would still only be allegations. I would certainly not assert as a matter of fact that these things existed. In relation to the second part—the question of whether they will be duplicated in existing safety net regimes across various states—these provisions are confined to New South Wales.

The industry has expressed concern that this provision is intended to introduce a new layer of regulation. It is not intended that this provision allow duplication of any other state safety laws to be included in modern awards. I place on record that the minister’s award modernisation request will make this clear. That answers definitively the two matters that Senator Xenophon raised and it deals with what I would call the straw-man reasoning being put forward on the other side.