Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. How is the government providing certainty to employees and employers in implementing workplace relations policies? Are there any threats to this provision of certainty?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Without wishing to embarrass the member for Cunningham, I do not think that the device that has been used traditionally, which formed the latter part of that question, is very helpful in the ongoing conduct of question time. I will allow it on this occasion, but those who might have guided the member for Cunningham might perhaps think twice about it.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for your guidance on those sorts of matters. It is my great pleasure to say today that I introduced into this parliament legislation to begin transitioning Australian workplaces to a fair and balanced industrial relations system. For the edification of the shadow Treasurer, it will be a decentralised system built on enterprise-level cooperation and on rewarding productivity in workplaces. It will be impossible under Labor’s system for a wage outcome in one enterprise to flow through automatically to wage outcomes in other enterprises. The system will give Australians a safety net on which they can rely and, when Labor’s system is in full operation, there will be no individual statutory employment agreements, no Australian workplace agreements, that can override the safety net and strip away aspects of the safety net.

I say to the shadow Treasurer, who says he is concerned about the inflation challenge: if he looks at the statistics to see who in our workforce has had the greatest uptake of AWAs, the most AWAs imposed on them, it is workers in the retail sector and in the hospitality sector. If the shadow Treasurer wants to advance to the Australian people that the way to fight inflation is to take away a safety net for low-wage, predominantly young workers in those industries—with some of the horror stories that we have heard about 17-year-olds, 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds having basic conditions like redundancy pay ripped off them, and they can still be ripped off people today—he can put that case. But we will be saying that the inflation challenge in the labour market is a product of the skills shortage.

When I introduced the legislation today in the House, I did three things that the Howard government did not do in the last parliament. First, I brought a piece of workplace relations legislation to the parliament that has the mandate of the Australian people—

Applause from the gallery—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The gallery will remain silent.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Howard government did not take Work Choices to the Australian people, because they knew it would be rejected. They snuck it in after the last election; they did not bring a piece of legislation to this parliament with the mandate of the Australian people.

Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. Is it now going to be your policy that the parliamentary chamber is going to be something like a football field and we are going to have cheer squads? We could bring some in, and maybe we should have some with flags. This roaring, chanting and clapping is not part of the processes of this place.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the extent that the member for O’Connor is correct in his final statement, there have been certain events today where there has been interaction from the gallery. In the context of the matters before us, I think that was appropriate. But I remind everybody that, in the upholding of the dignity of this chamber, outbursts from the gallery should be minimised, and if they continue they will lead to people being invited to leave the gallery.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sure we will all live in fear of the dimension of the member for O’Connor’s cheer squad when it turns up.

Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on the point of order, I will pick some better looking ones than they have!

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The honourable member for O’Connor has had his one bit of leniency from me. If he abuses points of order in that way, no matter how much they might get some people’s mirth up, I will deal with him.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Back to workplace relations. The second thing that happened today when I introduced that piece of workplace relations legislation was that I brought a bill to this parliament that was a product of genuine consultation. That is not something that the Howard government did in the last parliament. It did not believe in consulting with those who have expertise on industrial relations. Specifically, the bill went to the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council and its subcommittee, the committee on industrial legislation. With those experts from employer and employee organisations sitting around a table, the bill was improved. That is the benefit of consultation. The consultation continued with state workplace relations ministers. Of course, the former Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations never sat around a table with his ministerial colleagues—not once. This bill was the subject of discussion at the Workplace Relations Ministerial Council, and the council fulsomely endorsed the Rudd Labor government’s policy directions and our intention to go forward with fairness.

The third thing we did today was something else the Howard government would never have believed in doing. The Rudd Labor government led by example positively in the area of workplace relations when we announced that, from today, the government will not make new Australian workplace agreements in the Australian Public Service. We are leading by example to achieve a workplace relations system in which such agreements will be gone.

There appears to be some delusion going on in sections of the opposition benches. There appear to be people who have forgotten the year 2007. I know that for some of them it is a set of painful memories—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. Following your earlier advice to the Deputy Prime Minister, we have extended quite a deal of leniency. But as I recall, the Deputy Prime Minister was not asked for alternative views, and I ask you to bring her back to the question.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I technically did not rule it out of order. I advised that I think that, on reflection, some of those open-ended additions to questions should be avoided. I am trying to flag areas where I might be more interventionist than in the past. I appreciate that that is not the ruling to this point of order the member is looking for, but that is my intention.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And I appreciate that the opposition does not like to be reminded of 2007. But the delusion that is happening on the opposition benches is that somehow the workplace relations debate in 2007 was not about Work Choices and not about the abolition of Australian workplace agreements and the eradication of all individual statutory employment agreements from Australia’s workplace relations system. That was the government’s policy which was put to the people in our policy documents, and the bill today implements it.

I was asked about certainty for employers and employees as we move forward on industrial relations with our bill. Our bill came to the parliament today. The last time this parliament dealt with a piece of industrial relations legislation, we dealt with the then government’s so-called fairness test. I remind the House that the so-called fairness test was processed within four sitting weeks, inclusive of a Senate inquiry. The then government, the now opposition, believed that four sitting weeks was an appropriate length of time, inclusive of a Senate inquiry, for parliamentary scrutiny of a piece of industrial relations legislation. That was in circumstances where they had announced their policy intentions in early May and the bill came to the parliament in late May.

We announced our policy intentions in April and provided implementation details of our policy in August. If four weeks was good enough for the processing of the so-called fairness test, inclusive of a Senate inquiry, then it is good enough for the processing of Labor’s legislation. The members opposite, including most particularly the Manager of Opposition Business in the House, must agree that that is an appropriate time, because that is the time he provided when he was Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. We therefore look to the opposition to facilitate passage of this legislation, inclusive of any Senate inquiry, before Easter.

I say to every member of the House that, if Labor’s legislation is unduly delayed beyond that point, it is not the Labor Party that they on the opposition benches are frustrating; it is the will of the Australian people who voted for this when they voted at the last election. If there is any worker who is offered an Australian workplace agreement and has to take it in that time, who gets a take it or leave it AWA put in front of them that rips off a basic condition like redundancy pay, if the opposition has manipulated it to extend the time of Work Choices, that Australian will know exactly who ripped those conditions off them.