Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The government claims to be removing the ABCC because it discriminates against certain workers, and because industrial relations in this country should be determined by a one-size-fits-all approach. However, the government comes to this place today with this bill that will affect only the TCF industry and outworkers. In short, this bill clearly contradicts Labor's view with regard to the ABCC and workplace relations as a whole.

It is no surprise that this government is of two minds about workplace relations. The Prime Minister herself was of two minds when it came to the carbon tax: one month she did not want it; the next month it was back on the agenda. Australians have certainly come to expect this two sided approach to policy from Labor and we are, quite frankly, sick of it. I note that at the present time the government is conducting a review into the Fair Work Act. I think the Prime Minister and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations need to explain why this bill and its provisions have not been made a part of that review as they should have been in the first place.

The most disturbing part of this bill is the effect it will have on businesses. With a harder export market due to the higher Australian dollar, rising operating costs and higher labour costs compared to other countries such as China, TCF businesses across the country would struggle under these changes, especially considering the latest industry figures show that there are only 1,701 clothing businesses in Australia that earn more than $200,000.

This bill should have been part of the Fair Work Act review being conducted rather than brought before the House. This would have allowed for a thorough review of this country's workplace relations scheme and what it is currently lacking. By bringing the bill before the House today, the government is running away from scrutiny and kicking the union movement a free goal. Further, many up-and-coming designers will be disadvantaged by these changes, and that is not good enough. Rather than providing a disincentive for this, we need to provide encouragement to those people. We need to maximise workforce participation, and the government should not be putting obstacles in the way of achieving this.

Patterns of work have changed over the years and need to continue to do so. Manufacturing industries are critical to the future of Australia, and we need to be proactive and forward thinking to make sure that we maintain at least as broad a base of manufacturing as we have now. The government has failed to provide evidence that its changes are in the best interests of the industry and those who work in it, whatever their capacity. This bill should not be passed.

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