Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment, Senator Abetz. I refer the minister to the fair entitlements guarantee and to a letter he wrote on 17 July 2013 to Mr Pierre Rault, a former employee of Autodom Limited, which said that the coalition 'have not flagged any changes to the slightly modified entitlements guarantee that currently exist and you can be satisfied there is no risk to your entitlements'. Was this undertaking true?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Why has the minister broken this personal promise to Mr Rault by reducing workers' entitlements under the fair entitlements guarantee?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are two separate questions there. The first question was whether or not there would be changes to the entitlements of the person with whom I corresponded. The simple fact is that in the event this parliament makes any changes, they will not be retrospective. As a result, that person's entitlements were at all times protected. That is why I was able to very clearly answer yes to Senator Cameron's ill-thought-out first question.

In relation to the second question that he asked, regrettably, because of the failed finance minister sitting opposite me, we as a government had to make some decisions that we did not want to make to bring the budget back into shape, and that is part of bringing the budget back into shape. (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Given the tricky response that we just had from the Leader of the Government in the Senate and given how casually you have broken your promise, how can anyone believe the minister when he says that he has got no plans to reintroduce Work Choices?

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am reminded of what the former secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, said: 'When you hear those opposite starting to talk Work Choices, you know they are desperate.' You know they have no feathers to fly with. You know that there is no substance to their arguments in any way, shape or form. Just because Senator Cameron asks a silly, stupid, dumb question in this place does not mean that my response is tricky. What it means is that, yet again, Senator Cameron has not done his homework, has not done his research, has fallen flat on his face, and his only response is to accuse me of being tricky. He then breaks the glass and hauls out Work Choices. Everybody knows that Work Choices is dead, buried and cremated— (Time expired)