Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I honestly wish that government members would come into this place and make it quite clear what the agenda of this Work Choices legislation is, because they skip around and contradict themselves constantly. Indeed, so does the Prime Minister, so it is little wonder that he does not want to have a direct debate on the issue.

The reality is that the government tell us over and over again that for the last 10 years everything has been just great. They talk about the unemployment rate and they talk about the growth in, and strength of, the economy. Then, in complete contradiction to their own case, they tell us that, therefore, there is a need for radical change to take away all of the protections and opportunities that gave the Australian population of workers an opportunity to enjoy and participate in the fruits of that economic growth. For families the reality is that this bill will pose a situation—

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