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

I do not want to let this go without addressing Senator Xenophon and Senator Fielding. It seems to me, from the argument that they have put, that they are wedded to full-time equivalence. Can I say, and it is part of the argument that I put earlier and it is still sustainable, that I have not heard from Senators Xenophon and Fielding about how workable full-time equivalence will be for small business. My submission is it will be completely unworkable. It will be at the margin where the most pain will come, because employers will not be able to say, ‘Jane, Bob, Joe—I have got full-time, part-time and systematic casuals in place.’ They will have to be able to work out what full-time equivalence will be. And that will depend on what business cycle they are in; what seasonal business they are in, if it is seasonal; what period of the month it is; and whether it is over Christmas or New Year. But under our proposal there will be certainty at that point that they can go to the commission and say, ‘Here are my books. Here are the circumstances that I am confronted with.’ Oddly, Senator Boyce laughs. Unfair dismissal is not a laughing matter. In fact, I think you are so wedded to Work Choices that is why you laugh. You laugh because you think—