Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

On the question of redundancy entitlements, for any employee losing their job, one of the first questions which an employee asks in those circumstances is, ‘What protection do I have?’ Under Work Choices, those protections were systematically stripped away, which is why this government has said that it has been elected on a platform to abolish Work Choices and to abolish the capacity of firms to make AWAs into the future. That is what we have set out to do. We think that is an important element for all workers across Australia, particularly as they and their businesses negotiate difficult economic times. So my answer to the honourable member is: responsible economic management to ensure that we have maximum downward pressure on inflation and downward pressure on interest rates, because the affordability of capital affects both households and businesses and, therefore, the ability of businesses to employ and to grow; and, secondly, to make sure we have a fair and flexible industrial relations system for those employees who find themselves in a difficult situation and to make sure that we have a set of industrial relations laws which provides those employees at least with a right to redundancy. And that is what this government stands for.

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