Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to continue this debate taking note of the answers given by Senator Arbib. I do so following Senator Hutchins, who I know spent an inordinate amount of time talking about what Senator Fisher, my good friend and colleague, may or may not believe. He wanted to spend a lot of time talking about how the government had represented this policy to the Australian people. Well, let’s talk about what people might believe, and how the government may have represented this policy to the Australian people—because indeed the Australian people now know that they cannot believe the word of this government. This government went to the last election promising, as of course it did on so many other issues, some type of magic pudding formula with its award modernisation process. It was telling people, in clear and black-and-white terms, in words from the Deputy Prime Minister—the then deputy Labor leader, the Hon. Julia Gillard, no less—that no worker would be worse off and that no employer would face increased costs. This was the formula. This was what the Australian people were told in the lead-up to the last election. This is what they were told about award modernisation. These are the facts that Senator Hutchins so glibly overlooks.

Look at what the Australian Industrial Relations Commission came out and said, when it reached one of the first stages of this process last week. It said:

... it is clear that some award conditions will increase leading to cost increases and others will decrease leading to potential disadvantage for employees …

There we have it, in the commission’s own words. In less than one sentence it has shown to be false two promises made by this government about its award modernisation process—shown to be false the fact that there would be no increased costs to employers; shown to be false the fact that no employee would be worse off. So Senator Hutchins should not dare come in here and talk to the coalition about what we may or may not believe on this side, because we know that when we went to the last election with our industrial relations policies in place we were representing an honest and true system to the Australian people. The other side were representing a con job. That is what the Australian people got from the industrial relations system that this government is trying to implement.

So, what will we get from award modernisation? What do Australian industries face? Let us look at what some of the stakeholders believe to be the case. The retail sector predicts increased labour costs of up to 22 per cent—a threat to 1½ million retail workers around Australia. Those on the other side want to talk about jobs. I have 1.5 million of them here in the retail sector that are under threat from this process. The fast food and takeaway sector believe it could cost them more than $600 million, with thousands more jobs at stake. The Pharmacy Guild, and the pharmacy sector, can see thousands of jobs at stake from a 10 to 20 per cent increase in costs. Aged-care associations, particularly in my home state—and your home state, Mr Deputy President—of South Australia, see significant cost pressures as a result of the award modernisation process. Those aged-care businesses will face an increase in costs of between 10 and 20 per cent. They have come to see me. They have talked to me about their concerns—and the concerns are that it will impact directly on the care given to older Australians in those aged-care facilities, that it will hit their bottom line, that it will hit their costs and that as a result they will not be able to deliver the same quality of care to older Australians, because of this government’s breach of its promise. And we see the hospitality sector facing increased costs.

Senator Arbib likes to come in here and say: ‘We’re working with industry and employer groups. We’re working with them to go through these issues.’ Well, they have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the table every time. When it came to the hospitality industry, it took story after story on the front page of the Australian and other newspapers and intense lobbying from the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association before the government would agree to recognise that, lo and behold, the core trading times of the restaurant and catering sector happen to be evenings and weekends. Blow me down! Like you couldn’t see that one coming! The agricultural and country shows sector, after-hours pharmacies and all of these businesses with core trading times that are not nine to five Monday to Friday are the challenges this government needs to face up to. It needs to recognise that it has misled the Australian public and change this policy.