Kerry Bartlett (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last weekend a Your Rights at Work rally was held at Lithgow, in the new part of my electorate. I certainly accept people’s rights to engage in such rallies and to demonstrate in whichever way they like, so long as it is peaceful, and I acknowledge the bona fides of many of the workers who attend them. But I want to put on record my disappointment with the deceit that we continue to hear from union leaders and the ALP about the government’s Work Choices legislation. We continue to hear claims that this legislation will result in mass dismissals, yet we have seen almost 250,000 new jobs created, most of them full time, since this legislation was passed. We heard that wages would be driven down, yet the first decision of the Fair Pay Commission was a rise in the minimum wage of $27 a week. We heard that there would be mass industrial unrest, yet we have the lowest level of industrial disputation on record. The best chance of a job and higher wages is with strong economic management and a productive economy. That is what we have seen under this government and that is what would be at threat if there were a change to a Labor government.