Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Arbib. Does the government stand by the guarantee given by the Deputy Prime Minister that no worker would be worse off under Labor’s IR changes?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Rudd government was elected to kill Work Choices and that is exactly what we have done. We have passed three acts: the first stopped hated AWAs and commenced award modernisation; the second created the Fair Work system; and the third dealt with transitional and consequential issues. Interviewed on Sky TV in March last year, the Deputy Prime Minister said:

Australian workers are better off now and we have abolished the laws that enabled the making of award-stripping AWAs the most hated bit of Work Choices.

As part of our reforms we are modernising the award system, replacing literally thousands of awards with 130 simple, modern awards. And every step of the way we are protecting the interests of employees and employers. In line with protecting those interests, the AIRC has struck a balance from the diverse arrangements that apply and have developed awards from the existing conditions and community standards with wide application in the relevant industry. The commission is utilising the scheme we laid out in the Fair Work legislation to make sure there is a measured and orderly transition to modern awards. We have provided a full five-year phase-in period so that employers and employees would gradually move from old state awards to a new modern award. The commission is using that period.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Joyce, it seems as if you are the source of some of the interjections that are causing difficulties for people listening at that end of the chamber.

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, we provided a full five-year phase-in period so that employers and employees would gradually move from old state awards to a new modern award. The commission is using that period. For employees we took a belt and braces approach to making sure that modern awards would provide them with a fair, comprehensive and secure safety net of employment conditions that they can rely on and to ensure that they are not disadvantaged. (Time expired)

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, correct when he states that casual employees in the offshore oil and gas industry will have a 75 per cent pay cut as a result of Labor’s so-called award modernisation process?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am actually amazed that a Liberal Party senator from Western Australia is quoting a trade unionist in a positive sense. The whole world is going to stop! I cannot believe it. They actually care about the workers for once.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! When there is silence we will proceed.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is great to see that the Liberal Party has finally had a conversion on the road to Damascus. They are now the champions of workers in terms of award modernisation! What a load of rubbish. The truth is—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Arbib, resume your seat. When there is silence we will proceed.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Paul Howes, the secretary of the AWU, was talking about potential. What Mr Howes and the government have said is that any worker who believes they are disadvantaged can take out a take-home pay guarantee order through Fair Work Australia. That is what will guarantee them— (Time expired)

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a further supplementary question. Given that Labor’s award restructure will leave some workers worse off and at the same time increase costs for small business, and given the concerns expressed about the process by the independent Industrial Relations Commission, will the government now, finally, suspend the award restructure process, as we have been urging for some time?

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 take-home pay orders that can be granted by Fair Work Australia which will put in place guarantees on employee entitlements and conditions. But it quite amazes me that for 12 years the coalition talked about reform—they talked about this reform of simplifying awards, they talked about getting rid of the duplication, they talked about microeconomic reform—but in the end what did they do in this field? Absolutely nothing. They did not take it on. The reform was too hard. They have left it to the Labor Party. They want us to do the hard work.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce, I do not think that I need to point out to you again that it is disorderly to interject constantly throughout question time. There are others around you who might want to listen to the answers in question time. I do not know if you are interested, but there are others who are.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is a huge reform; it is a massive reform. It has big implications for business. It will reduce costs for business because it will reduce red tape and simplify an extremely difficult system. The coalition has given up on representing small business. They only care about their own interests, and that is getting back into government—that is all they care about. (Time expired)