Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Would the minister inform the House of the benefits of the government’s Fair Work Bill? Are there any obstacles to working people and employers experiencing these benefits?

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

I thank the member for Deakin for his question and note his deep interest and active involvement in putting together the government’s Fair Work Bill. The Fair Work Bill brings to a culmination what the Australian Labor Party promised the Australian people in the lead-up to the 2007 election. We promised them an end to Work Choices. We promised them a fair, flexible and balanced workplace relations system.

We announced our policy Forward with Fairness in April 2007. We campaigned for it every day in the lead-up to the 2007 election, and the Australian people endorsed it. Every day since, we have worked in a consultative way with employers, with unions, with those interested in delivering a fair, flexible and balanced workplace relations system. We have worked with a business advisory group, a small business working group, a workers advisory group, the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council and the Committee on Industrial Legislation—meeting for an unprecedented number of days, working with the legislation. We introduced it into the House of Representatives last November and it has been to an extensive Senate committee inquiry. We did not sneak up on anybody with this bill. Everybody knew that this bill would be in the Senate for decision this week.

What did the Leader of the Opposition say when this bill came into the parliament? He said:

We—

the coalition—

accept that WorkChoices is dead. The Australian people have spoken.

They were the words of the Leader of the Opposition last November. They were driven by opportunism, no doubt, but Australian people listening to those words would have thought that the coalition was going to get out of the way and allow Work Choices to be brought to an end, to kill Work Choices and have a fair and flexible system introduced. And it seemed that that might happen—that was, until the member for Higgins appeared on the Today show last week and said:

It—

the government—

has to reconsider its proposals in relation to industrial relations.

So the Liberal Party went into its party room today, and the people of Australia waited. Who was going to determine the Liberal Party’s position on Work Choices? Was it the Leader of the Opposition or the member for Higgins?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You didn’t mention union right of entry last election.

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

Well, now we know that it is not the Leader of the Opposition or the member for Higgins.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They’ve all gone quiet behind you.

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

The member for Sturt!

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

The startling truth is: no-one is determining their position, because they do not know what to say next. The Liberal Party gathered today to kill Work Choices and then just could not bring themselves to do it. As I am advised, the shadow cabinet went to the party meeting with no recommendation about what to do next. As I am advised, the people who hold themselves out as the alternative government of this country in the middle of a global financial crisis could not work out whether or not to kill a piece of legislation that makes it easier to sack a worker. People who were there in a party room were asked whether or not they wanted to end a piece of legislation that made it easier to sack a worker and they stayed in the embrace of Work Choices.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! Those on my left!

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

I can understand the catcalls to cover their embarrassment—the Leader of the Opposition: repudiated; the member for Higgins, the architect of Work Choices: seeking to drive the embrace of Work Choices even further; the Liberal Party gathered to kill Work Choices and they could not bring themselves to do it. Before today we knew that the Liberal Party is and always will be the party of Work Choices. After today we know that that is true and we also know that they are a hopeless rabble and joke, unable to keep the Leader of the Opposition’s commitment to the Australian people that Work Choices is dead.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Where’s the money coming from?

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

The member for Sturt is warned!

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

Work Choices is alive and well in the Liberal Party. We have seen it on display today. There is nowhere to run now, nowhere to hide. We will be seeing how they vote in this parliamentary fortnight, but the Australian people should know they are the party of Work Choices still.