Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is again to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister recall the Cowra Abattoir case which occurred during the first week of operation of the government’s industrial relations legislation? Is the Prime Minister aware of a May 2006 Office of Workplace Services report entitled ‘Cowra abattoirs: report of an investigation into alleged breaches of the Workplace Relations Act 1996’? Prime Minister, doesn’t that report recommend that no further action be taken and conclude that the employer had operational reasons for terminating employees and their conduct did not constitute a breach of the government’s legislation? When will the Prime Minister and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations finally admit this?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the first part of the question is yes. The answer to the second part of the question is that I have seen reports of a report by the Office of Workplace Services. I have also seen a press statement released today by the Office of Workplace Services which states ‘that, despite media reports today to the contrary, the investigation into Cowra Abattoir Pty Ltd is yet to be finalised’. Now that the member for Perth, with his customary searching analysis, has raised the question of the Cowra Abattoir, let me say something about this company and let me say something about the campaign that is being waged by the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party, who apparently believe it is better for potentially 200 people to lose their jobs entirely because a firm goes out of business than it is for a firm to adjust its workforce down, retain the majority of them and keep the business going.

Stephen Smith (Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Admit it.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Perth has asked his question.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The truth is that what has happened at Cowra Abattoir reflects a situation that obtained before Work Choices was introduced and will obtain irrespective of what industrial relations system this country has. The reality is that Cowra Abattoir has been suffering financial difficulties for some time. I table a letter dated 16 February 2006 from Cowra Abattoir to all its employees which outlines the reasons the company came to the conclusion that it had to get by with a lesser number of employees.

The truth is that, no matter what industrial relations system you have, there comes a time with many firms when either an adjustment in the size of the workforce or some adjustment in the conditions under which some of the workforce are employed is necessary in order to keep a firm going. I might remind the member for Perth that when his beloved industrial relations system governed this country in the early 1990s it did not stop a million Australians being thrown out of work because of the recession we had to have. The truth is that the attitude of the Labor Party is that it is better that everybody lose their job because the firm goes broke than there be some adjustment to the workforce to keep a firm going.

No matter what generality of strong economic conditions we may have obtained in this country, there will always be some firms, through some combination of reasons, that are doing poorly. To suggest that when a firm is operating uneconomically it has no right to alter the structure of its workforce, it has no right to ask its workforce to accept a changed operation and it has no right in the end, regrettable though it might be, to retrench some of its workforce, but that it has to maintain all of its workforce at the same level of remuneration with the inevitable consequence that the firm is going to go out of business, defies rationality. It is that kind of thinking that helped throw a million people out of work when the Leader of the Opposition was the employment minister of this country.