Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Would the minister update the House on the way in which the government’s workforce reforms have assisted women, young people and long-term unemployed back into work, particularly on the North Coast of New South Wales? Is the minister aware of any alternative views?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Page for his question. I note that I read an article in the Northern Star with the headline that the Far North Coast has shed its reputation as the nation’s dole capital. It says that unemployment has hit a 30-year low as the region cashes in on the economic boom. It cites no better authority than the federal member for Page as saying:

... the lifting of unfair dismissal laws gave local business owners confidence to employ more staff.

That is excellent. It is a good news story. Unemployment is down to 5.6 per cent on the North Coast of New South Wales. The unfair dismissal laws are job destroying. They have had a negative impact on small business. That is why we removed them—to provide an incentive for small business to go out and employ more Australians.

I was asked about alternative policies. I note that the Labor Party has had, to the best of my knowledge, seven different policies on unfair dismissal laws in the last seven months. Seven different policies! Policy No.1, from the member for Brand, the former Leader of the Opposition, was to abolish Work Choices and reinstate unfair dismissal laws. Policy No. 2 was in a transcript of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition on the ABC Insiders program where she suggested they change the threshold. Policy No. 3 scrapped Beazley’s policy on dismissal and flagged reinstatement. Policy No. 4 was from the shadow minister for small business, over there, in a speech to COSBOA—a landmark speech that said nothing—on 27 February. Policy No. 5 was the next day: that fabulous interview with Madonna King on the ABC! We will not forget that in a hurry. And there were a number of policies within policies in Policy No. 5 with Madonna King. Policy No. 6—God bless her!—was from Sharan Burrow. Sharan Burrow was asked today:

Do you have the unequivocal support of federal Labor for winding back Work Choices?

She said:

No question. There is an absolute commitment to reinstate the unfair dismissal laws.

It goes further. Today there was an article in the Australian; and this is the next policy.

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

By Kevin Rudd?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was by Sid Marris. The article says:

Labor is debating internally how it can minimise a backlash from small businesses over its plan to wind back their exemption from unfair dismissal laws.

And listen to this:

Some in the labour movement are considering a special mediator who could go to a workplace to resolve a dispute.

What sort of mediator? Brian Burke or Mark Latham? There could be a whole range of them. I was reminded of the article in the West Australian about a fellow by the name of Joe Mcdonald. It says:

Unionist Joe McDonald has vowed to continue breaking the law by trespassing on Perth building sites to conduct union business after police were called to remove him from a site yesterday when he refused about two dozen requests to leave.

It goes on to say:

The assistant secretary of the Construction, Forestry , Mining and Energy Union conceded it was the fourth time in the past fortnight that police had been called to building sites to remove him, but on two occasions he left before they arrived.

It is illegal for Mr McDonald to enter building sites ... after losing both his State and Federal right of entry permits for behaviour, including bullying and harassment.

This is the perfect sort of mediator that Sharan Burrow might have been considering! It gets better:

But the controversial unionist admitted for the first time yesterday that the law would not stop him entering building sites.

No wonder Sharan Burrow wants to change the law. She wants to bring mediators like Joe Mcdonald into the workplace. This is policy No. 7. Seven policies in seven months!

They are not only walking both sides of the street when it comes to unfair dismissal laws; they are stuck on a Canberra roundabout and they cannot get off. When is the Labor Party going to come up with a policy? At this stage the only policy that Australian business can understand is the ACTU’s policy, where they are going to have trade unionists going back into every workplace, where they are going to reintroduce the job-destroying unfair dismissal laws and where they are going to leave small business and Australian workers behind.