Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment Participation representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Arbib. Can the minister inform the Senate of the impact that Australian workplace agreements have had on Australian workers? In particular, could the minister detail how AWAs have been used to strip workers of pay and conditions? What would reintroducing AWAs mean for employees, especially when their jobs are under threat from the global recession? Finally, would the reintroduction of AWAs mean the return of Work Choices?

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! On both sides, the time for debating this issue is at the end of question time, not now.

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 Lundy for the question and her longstanding interest in protecting jobs and employment conditions. We have seen over the last couple of months the work that is going on between the government and employers to protect workers in the workforce. The move to part-time labour is made possible by a workplace relations system that the government has introduced, striking the right balance between fairness and flexibility. But over the weekend the veil has slipped from the Liberal Party and at last their true intentions have once again emerged. Mr Turnbull told the Australian people that Work Choices was dead. On Insiders on 22 March he said:

Work Choices is dead. It died at 2.30am on Friday morning. There’s no question about that. It is dead.

He said again on 25 November 2008:

The Coalition accepts Work Choices is dead. The Australian people have spoken.

Have they spoken? Over the weekend Mr Turnbull has returned and has opened the door—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Senator Arbib, resume your seat. Order, on both sides!

Bill Heffernan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I just want to point out to Senator Arbib that it is Mr McGurk that is dead.

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

I think that is completely unnecessary, Senator Heffernan. There needs to be silence on both sides.

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

They do not want to hear about Work Choices. They had a big victory over their leader on this because the truth is that the hardliners in the Liberal Party have been calling for Work Choices to return. Senator Fifield recently said, ‘We should stay loyal to our core principles and ideology.’ Wilson Tuckey, the member for O’Connor—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Senator Arbib, resume your seat. Senator Arbib is entitled to be heard in silence. Debating the matter across the chamber at this time is disorderly. There is plenty of time at the end of question time to debate these issues for those who want to put their name on the list of speakers.

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

The member for O’Connor today supported the member for Wentworth, saying:

I was never comfortable with people coming out without partyroom endorsement at the time and saying WorkChoices was dead. The only problem with WorkChoices was its name.

(Time expired)

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a supplementary question. Is the minister aware of any plans to reintroduce AWAs into the industrial relations system? What is the detail of these plans? How could such changes represent a threat to jobs and employment? Could the minister please outline the extent of support for such changes in the parliament and elsewhere?

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

We do know that AWAs were at the beating heart of Work Choices. Under the Liberals, almost two-thirds of AWAs cut annual leave loading, 63 per cent slashed penalty rates, over half cut overtime and shiftwork loadings, 48 per cent cut allowances, 46 per cent cut public holiday pay—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Senator Arbib, resume your seat. Order!

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

Worse was to come because AWAs also provided no guarantee of redundancy entitlements. In the middle of a global recession if Work Choices were in place, workers on contracts would have no guarantee of redundancy entitlements. This is what the Liberal Party want to return in the middle of a global recession. It would be absolutely disastrous for workers, especially workers on low incomes. The most vulnerable workers would be disadvantaged—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Resume your seat. When there is silence, we will proceed.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Arbib, continue.

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

All this is back on the cards. Mr Turnbull let the cat out of the bag over the weekend. (Time expired)

Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his answer. Mr President, I ask a final supplementary question. Can the minister further elaborate on the sources of support for such fundamental changes that threaten jobs and entitlements? Can the minister inform the Senate of why such radical changes are being proposed at the height of the global recession?

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

I can tell you why Mr Turnbull is trying to introduce them now—because he is out of touch. He is completely out of touch with working Australians. He is desperate—there is no doubt about it. His leadership is under threat from hardliners, such as the member for Warringah and Senator Abetz—

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

Resume your seat. When we have silence, we will proceed.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

When we have silence, we will proceed. Order!

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

Just to show how out of touch the Liberal Party is I will read what Mr Keenan, the shadow minister, said this morning when he was on Sky News. Kieran Gilbert said to him:

I suppose people would want to know though in this time of economic uncertainty would the coalition’s safety net include, for example, a guarantee on redundancy pay. Would you provide a guarantee for that?

Mr Keenan said:

Look, I think people absolutely have a right to know the sorts of things that we will be proposing, but we will release our policy in the leadup to the next election.

Mr Gilbert said:

So you can’t guarantee something like redundancy …

(Time expired)