Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Ryan for his question and his interest in workplace relations in Australia. It is true that the government believe that we should have one single national system of industrial relations. We believe that because it would reduce duplication, it would reduce complexity and it would reduce the cost and confusion for both employers and employees. The reality is that we have some 10 million Australians in work in Australia—the highest number historically—but thousands of different state and federal awards and pieces of legislation. There are six competing systems of industrial relations operating, which is costly, confusing and complex. The government are committed to reducing this burden.

I was asked by the member for Ryan whether there were any other significant figures who have supported one national system of industrial relations. As far back as 1972 the then Labor Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Whitlam, supported a national system of industrial relations. It was interesting, when I read the Workplace Express email recently, that the member for Perth had told an industrial relations society conference in South Australia just last Friday that it would ‘not be inappropriate’ for the ALP to contemplate a national system of industrial relations.

See this speech in context