Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister agree with Heather Ridout of the Australian Industry Group when she said that the government has broken its word on the industrial relations changes and that these changes will destroy jobs? What further evidence does the Prime Minister need that his industrial relations changes will cut Australian jobs, turning working families into redundancy families?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition, he who says that Work Choices is dead—but it seems not for today. In response to the honourable member’s question, which goes to comments from the Australian Industry Group, as the honourable member knows, the AiG and the government, through the Deputy Prime Minister, have been engaged in long-term negotiations over aspects of the industrial relations legislation. These have been important and substantive, and have produced good outcomes in terms of getting the balance right, in terms of what firms need and in terms of what employees need as well. Furthermore, on one of the matters to which AiG refers, I would simply say that on the question of arbitration—the resort to what is described by some as compulsory arbitration—our view is that the provisions and the protections contained in the legislation get the balance right, and the circumstances and the conditionalities are attached to them. That is important. We believe that is the right way to go.

Similarly, on the other question the AiG raised on the transfer of business, we are acutely conscious of the complexities which are alive in that and we are also acutely conscious of what happens when the ownership of a firm transfers from one to the other and what happens with the pre-existing industrial relations arrangements contained within a pre-existing enterprise agreement. There has been extensive consultation on these matters between the government and the AiG. We believe we have got the balance right. There is always room for disagreement. But we believe that when it comes to the overall balance, Australians want a government with legislation to protect the interests of working families on things like redundancy, penalty rates and overtime payments. That is where the balance lies.