Senate debates
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Questions without Notice
Workplace Relations
2:32 pm
Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to Senator Arbib, the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Does the minister’s decision to intervene in award overhaul in the horticultural sector show that the government knows that its fatally flawed policy will cost jobs?
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank Senator Fisher. I am always happy to get up and talk about reforms that are taking place in workplace relations, and also to remind Australians about the previous, Howard government’s Work Choices legislation. So any time—
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The minister has just indicated that he will not be answering the question but will be using it as an opportunity to talk about matters that are not directly relevant. I remind you of the sessional order requiring the minister to be directly relevant to the question, and that of course relates to horticulture.
Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On the point of order, Mr President, I know Senator Abetz is trying to rebuild his confidence, but Senator Arbib is perfectly entitled to put the question in the context of the general IR debate, and he had only been going for a matter of 19 seconds when Senator Abetz sought to take a point of order. Senator Arbib, as always, will directly answer the question and deal with it in the context of the IR debate.
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! At this stage there is no point of order, but I do draw the minister’s attention to the question and I will be listening carefully to the answer that is given to ensure that it is relevant to the question.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I was mentioning Work Choices and reminding Australians about that, but I do want to move on to horticulture and award modernisation. This a major piece of reform that was too tough for the Howard government to take on, but the Rudd government is doing it: reforming 2,400 outmoded state and federal instruments into 230 simple, modern awards. There have been discussions with the horticultural industry. In fact, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and her department met on 26 May with Horticulture Australia Council, Growcom, the National Farmers Federation, Fruit Growers Tasmania and the Australian Industry Group, and there have been further pieces of correspondence and also further phone calls. As Senator Fisher would know, though, these are quite difficult and complex issues that need to be worked through. They affect a very crucial sector of the economy and a very crucial workforce, so it will take time. Overwhelmingly, the task of award modernisation has been going extremely smoothly and has been very successful.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
There are a small number of issues—
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The minister will resume his seat. I will call the minister when there is silence. When there is silence, we will proceed. Senator Arbib.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
As I was saying, there are a small number of issues, and we are working with industry and with unions to ensure that those issues worked through. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has put it on the record that she is prepared to intervene in award modernisation, in the most unusual cases where she considers that the commission has departed from the principles laid down by the government and where the public interest and circumstances warrant it. (Time expired)
Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that other industries, such as pharmacy, fast food and cleaning services, face the same job destruction from Labor’s bungled award overhaul—
Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
when will the minister intervene in those sectors and others, as she apparently has for restaurants, cafes and now horticulture?
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! I realise it is Thursday, but the minister is entitled to be heard in silence. Minister.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I do wish to remind Senator Fisher that she and all the Liberal Party and National Party senators actually voted for this piece of legislation. They voted for award modernisation. They can now whinge and whine about it, but they voted for it.
Senator Fisher asked a question in regard to other sectors. I can confirm that there have been discussions with other sectors. The Deputy Prime Minister met with: on 25 May, the aged-care industry; on 26 May, the horticulture industry, as I said; on 18 June, the pharmacy industry; on 18 June, the retail industry; on 4 August, independent schools; on 11 August, the AHA; and on 18 August, the Citrus Australia group. We are putting in place detailed reform. We are working with the industry. We are doing it in a balanced and responsible way. This is the difference between the Rudd government, who believes in fairness and balance, and the previous government, who believed in Work Choices.
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! I will call you when there is silence, Senator Fisher.
Mary Fisher (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given that the minister refuses to immediately intervene to help sectors such as pharmacy, fast food and cleaning services, will the government suspend its bungled award overhaul to stop the execution of jobs economy-wide, or has the government guillotined its promise to not cost jobs, not cost business and not cost workers with its bungled award overhaul?
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
As I said, the discussions and the negotiations with trade unions and with industry will continue. Coming back to the premise of Senator Fisher’s argument, what would the Liberal Party do? What would they do if they were back in government? We know for a fact it would only take them five minutes to bring back Work Choices. Let’s talk about Work Choices.
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! Senator Arbib, resume your seat. On both sides I need order. When there is silence Senator Arbib may continue.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Senator Fisher, as a former staffer to Peter Reith, obviously does not like hearing this. But look at the six women who worked in the agricultural sector, at Merbein Mushrooms, who refused to sign AWAs because it would cut their take-home pay by $150 a week. That was possible under the previous Howard government.
Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr President, I raise a point of order. There is a sessional order in place, and I would invite you to rule on whether or not the minister is being directly relevant to the question that was asked. Mr President, if you allow him to continue and rule that the answer is directly relevant, I do not think many people listening to and viewing this broadcast would agree.
Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On the point of order, what the minister has been doing is responding to the question and being directly relevant to it. The minister may have been provoked by interjections from the other side, to which he fairly responded. The question was asked and the minister is responding directly to those matters. The question was about industrial relations and the minister is responding and also, inevitably, referring to the award modernisation program. That was clear in the answer. However, I do not invite you, Mr President, like the senator on the opposite side did, because I think that was one step too far, quite frankly. I simply request politely that you rule that there is no point of order.
John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On the point of order, I consider that the minister is answering the question. He may not be giving the answer that the questioner would like, necessarily, but I have no control over the answer that is given by a minister. I have no control over the answer that is given by a minister—I repeat that. I draw the minister’s attention to the question and I invite the minister to continue his answer.
Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
As I was saying, the government will continue to work cooperatively, fairly and in a balanced way with the horticultural sector and with all other sectors, because we believe in fairness and we believe in balance, unlike those in the Liberal Party and the National Party. (Time expired)