Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

Could I just make some very short responses in relation to what Senator Cameron has stated? It is a gross mischaracterisation to suggest that unions will lose their collective bargaining rights. All this is doing is providing—as we have talked about for a number of hours tonight—the relief valve where there has been an impasse for six months.

Senator Cameron, in all of his arguments, again conveniently ignores that Labor's handpicked reviewers—and it was the current Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, who put this review panel together and chose the people to review Labor's legislation—that have recommended this course of action. The independent Productivity Commission has recommended this solution to the existing problem. To give a sense of practicality: how long would a reasonable person think it should take for an employer and a union to agree to conditions that, under what we propose to do, are actually better off than the award for a brand new project that is going to create real jobs for real people?