Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Abetz, representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Will the minister provide the Senate with an update on the implementation of the government’s Work Choices legislation? Will the minister also advise the Senate whether his attention has been drawn to a survey about community views in relation to this legislation?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Fifield for his insightful questions and confirm to the Senate that the sky has not fallen in as a result of Work Choices being implemented. According to numerous newspaper reports today, the ACTU recently commissioned Auspoll to survey voters in 24 coalition held marginal seats. This is not the first time Auspoll has been used to manufacture concern. According to the Daily Telegraph last September, secret polling by Auspoll revealed that the controversial workplace reforms could cost the Howard government the next election.

It is no secret to any of us here that there is some community concern about Work Choices just as, might I add, there was about the introduction of the goods and services tax. That was so evil, according to Mr Beazley, that he would roll it back. He now of course fully embraces it. As with the GST, the union movement and the ALP are deliberately manufacturing fear, concerned with short-term opportunism rather than with nation building.

Auspoll Pty Ltd is owned and operated by six individuals, four of whom also own and operate Essential Research, which conducted dodgy polling for the ACTU last May. I say ‘dodgy’ polling because when the ACTU released some of the questions asked it was clear that dubious polling methods such as leading questions had been employed. This time the ACTU has not even released the raw data, let alone any of the questions.

But back to the owners of Auspoll. Elizabeth Lukin formerly worked for the Nursing Federation, the Finance Sector Union and the Australian Education Union. She and Mark Civitella formerly worked as media officers with the Victorian Trades Hall Council. Peter Lewis works as the media officer for the New South Wales Trades and Labour Council, edits Workers Online and was press secretary for former New South Wales industrial relations minister Jeff Shaw. John Armitage is a failed former Labor candidate for Flinders, who doubles as pollster for the Victorian ALP. There is a common thread here, Mr President. Even the Melbourne Age, in 2003, said Auspoll has ‘strong ALP connections’. Auspoll, once run by Labor upper house MP Matt Viney, has conducted polling for the ALP and has given money to the ALP. So much for the independence of this particular polling company. James Douglas, another Auspoll director and shareholder, has been described by his companies as follows:

James is a campaign organiser and political strategist.

The document says:

He understands the working of government and the ALP. He has organised state election campaigns and most recently was the campaign manager for Matt Viney—

remember that name—

in the supplementary election.

To conclude, what we have seen from the ACTU and the Labor Party over Work Choices is a campaign of dodgy polls, dodgy so-called independent academics and dodgy so-called disadvantaged workers who are in fact union officials like Fran Tierney. We as a government are proud of our Work Choices program because we see it as an exercise, as I said before, in nation building. Those opposite can engage in their short-term opportunism, but I invite them to make the backflip today so they will not be embarrassed in a few years time. (Time expired)