David Van (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Didn't you come from a union, Senator Sterle? While businesses are dealing with the Labor Party's 56 per cent increase in power prices, those opposite seem to think businesses have a spare 14 grand lying around. Well, wake up! They don't.

Labor's proposed changes will move Australia's industrial relations system from bargaining done at enterprise level, also known as bargaining with the businesses where you work, to bargaining done across multiple workplaces and potentially across a whole industry. This would massively expand the power of trade unions, allowing them to operate in businesses they currently have no connection to. This includes tens of thousands of small businesses right across Australia. Under Labor's legislation, multiple sectors will be able to engage in crippling, economy-wide strikes. Those opposite don't realise that enterprise-wide bargaining will mean industry-wide strikes and the breakdown of the Australian economy.