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

Minister, I wish it was that simple but it is certainly not as simple as the spin that you have just put on it. You talk about providing certainty. I think the issue of certainty in my mind is still not clear from what you have told us.

I notice in the explanatory memorandum the government says there are three objectives: one is to ensure that there are realistic time frames for negotiation; the second is to ensure that negotiations do not delay or jeopardise investments in major projects; and the third is to provide that the interests of employees to be covered by such agreements are protected. I do not think—and Labor does not think—that these amendments that you have put forward achieve these three overarching policy objectives as they are described. One of the reasons it will not achieve them is that I am sure you have sold it to the crossbenchers that after six months there is certainty for this investment. There is no certainty, because there is an appeal process.

Firstly, Labor definitely supports good faith bargaining but we do not see this as being good faith bargaining; we see this as a termination of bargaining rights. That is what it is. It is not a release valve. You can call it whatever like—you call it a release valve. It is actually the termination of rights in terms of bargaining in this country. I want to ask you this: if it is about certainty, how does the appeal process work?