Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I note that there is no doubt that turning back the clock on the government’s workplace relations reforms would have a negative impact on Australian families. It would have a dire impact on inflation, interest rates and unquestionably housing affordability. The independent construction watchdog found through an independent report released last month that housing would be three per cent more expensive if the Labor Party were elected into government and inflation would be one per cent higher.

Only last week, an independent report commissioned by small business found interest rates would be 1.4 per cent higher if the government’s workplace relations reforms were rolled back by the Labor Party. Yesterday, the head of the Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout, said that interest rates would be higher if a centralised and fixed workplace relations system was introduced. So it is not hard to understand that under the Labor Party it is likely that interest rates will go up higher than anything under this government and, significantly, more than 300,000 jobs would be lost and it would be much harder for working Australians.

There was speculation today in a national newspaper that the Labor Party would change their policy. Heather Ridout said yesterday on Meet the Press that she was looking forward to the Labor Party’s industrial relations policy mark 2. I thought to myself: will the Labor Party change their policy? I think it is highly unlikely they will. The Labor Party are totally captured by the union bosses.

I was surfing YouTube today—for a brief moment during my morning tea break—and I came across an interesting photo from the ETU. It has Mike Symon, the Labor Party candidate for Deakin; Kevin Harkins, the now disgraced candidate for Franklin; Dean Mighell, the disgraced leader of the ETU; and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. There is Dean Mighell with the three stooges. What we can glean from this information on YouTube—and I am happy to table that photograph—is that the Labor Party remains built, owned and operated by the union bosses, the Dean Mighells, the Kevin Harkins. We hear today that Joe McDonald is going to be defiant in remaining in the Labor Party. Do you remember the Leader of the Opposition saying it was a zero tolerance policy? Joe McDonald has new allegations against him and the response of the Labor Party is: ‘We’ll have to put back his suspension from the Labor Party to February next year.’ Joe McDonald is still in the Labor Party wearing his ‘no ticket no start’ braces.

As for the new ETU candidate for Deakin, they are all fingers on the same hand—the hand that wants to reach into the pocket of working Australian families; the hand that is going to deliver control of the Labor Party to the union bosses. The Labor Party is built, owned and operated by the union bosses. The more evidence we see and hear proves it yet again: they will be controlled by the people who want to control every workplace, and that is very bad for Australian working families.

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