Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Employment (Senator Abetz) to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today.

Here we are, one third of the way through the term of this government. One year into this government and what the Australian public know is that this is an unfair, incompetent and arrogant government—unfair in almost everything it does. What Senator Abetz has outlined today is that same unfairness. Whether it is workers seeking to bargain with their employers or the unemployed trying to get a fair go in this country, this government is unfair. It is an incompetent government, because this is a government that went to the Australia public saying it would not do deals. And yet we see deals being done with the Palmer United Party that will be a pyrrhic victory for this government. And it will be a pyrrhic victory for the Palmer United Party as well, because if you want to hammer the conditions and the rights of Australian workers, Work Choices showed that that would be a price that would have to be paid by this government.

This is an ideological government; a government that puts ideology before the national interest. It is an untrustworthy government because you cannot trust a word it says. I asked Senator Abetz today about changes to the 457 visa system, and he simply said, 'No, there will be no changes.' The problem for Senator Abetz and the problem for this government is that not only do we on this side of the chamber not trust them, but the Australia public also do not trust the Abbott government, because this government is a one that came to power based on lies and misrepresentation. We see it every day of the week with this government: more changes that were not outlined to the Australia public by this government and more lies and more rhetoric to try to hide the facts of its untruthful position.

When Senator Abetz raised the issue of immigration, he failed to deal with the article in The Australian today, where Senator Cash is quoted as saying:

Our immigration responses should recognise the unique labour needs of different geographic areas and allow flexibility to properly respond to those needs.

Senator Abetz will obviously have an opportunity to respond in this debate, and I would ask him to have a look at that article in The Australian and respond to Senator Cash's argument that you need different, more flexible approaches—that you have to be unique. There has been one other argument that I have heard about the uniqueness of the Australian labour market, and that argument came from Gina Rinehart. Gina Rinehart said that we should recognise the uniqueness of the mining industry and the uniqueness of the regional areas where mining takes place. That uniqueness could be fixed up by looking at what happens in Africa, where workers are on $2 a day, and we had to compete with workers in Africa on $2 a day. This position is in The Australian today—guidelines have been seen by The Australian. The Australian is saying, 'We have seen these guidelines.' The reporter has seen the guidelines and it means that workers could be paid as skilled workers about $10,000 less, or 10 per cent less, than other workers. A skilled worker could be paid $48,510 a year, rather than the minimum rate of $53,900 a year.

Senator Abetz, nobody believes your government. Nobody believes you. When it comes to the Department of Human Services on bargaining, what is the ask there? Lots of access to flex time; loss of overtime for additional hours worked; reduced hourly rates of pay; a reduction of 5.9 per cent of superannuation contributions; reduced job security; massive cuts to conditions of employment; and a pay offer that would result in the reduction of real wages. (Time expired)