Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I am asked, generally, how this has affected what individual contracts have done. When individual contracts were brought in in this country it had the effect of two-thirds of individual contracts cutting annual leave loading and penalty rates. One half of them cut shift work, overtime, rest breaks and holiday pay. One third of them cut public holidays and one fifth of them had provisions in them for no pay increase for up to five years. That is what individual contracts did.

I also make the point that apart from restoring fairness and dignity to the workplace when we introduced Fair Work Australia, it has also had significant benefits for the Australian economy. We have had the record job growth which I spoke about yesterday. No four-year period in the history of this country has seen 750,000 jobs created. It has also been great for the economy because it has lowered industrial disputes.

So why would anyone want to return to individual contracts? I am asked by the member: what is the future of individual contracts in this country? I say to you, under us there is absolutely no future, because we are determined to keep the system that we have in place.

But the same cannot be said for the other side. We heard yesterday the former minister for Industrial Relations, Peter Reith, stirring on the other side of politics to go back to Work Choices. But fortunately we had a statement from the Leader of the Opposition saying, 'We don't support individual contracts.'

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