House debates

Wednesday, 3 June 2009

Questions without Notice

Workplace Relations

3:31 pm

Photo of Yvette D'AthYvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Would the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House the process for employers and employees to move to new modern awards from 1 January 2010, and how these changes have been received?

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Petrie for her question. I note that she is a great representative of Queensland in this national parliament. I also note that the person from the opposition who asked the last question, the member for O’Connor, is of course not from Queensland, even though the question was about Queensland. I understand from the Manager of Opposition Business that the explanation for that is he did all of the work for the question, presumably reading today’s newspapers, and so we now have proof positive—

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

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. The minister was asked a specific question by the honourable member from Queensland.

Photo of Harry JenkinsHarry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The manager of opposition business will resume his seat.

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

Mr Pyne interjecting

Photo of Harry JenkinsHarry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat!

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

You should be sat down. You’re making a mockery of the House!

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting

Photo of Harry JenkinsHarry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt will remove himself from the chamber for one hour. The Deputy Prime Minister will respond to the question.

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, and all I was doing was praising the member for O’Connor and noting that now the future of the Liberal Party relies on his hard work and the member for Sturt’s hysteria—not a great recipe for future success.

Photo of Harry JenkinsHarry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The Deputy Prime Minister will respond to the question.

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

In answering the member for Petrie’s question, Mr Speaker, of course the government is committed to a future with a simple modern award system. We believe in awards; members of the Liberal Party do not. They voted for awards-stripping legislation in government, and they believe in people having the safety net stripped away.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

They are catcalling now because, of course, they believe in 16-year-old and 17-year-old kids getting ripped off in their first job. That is what happened when they were in government. In delivering this simple modern award system for the future, we are ensuring that there is a measured, sensible transition to the new Fair Work Act and the modern award system. We are enabling the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to have a full five-year phase-in period for changes—a sensible, measured approach; a phased approach for businesses around the country.

Photo of Michael KeenanMichael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | | Hansard source

You can’t be proud of this!

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I am asked for reactions to this; I am asked how these changes have been received. I do regret to inform the House that there is much misinformation out there about our simple modern award system and the transition to it. The shadow minister for employment and workplace relations, who is interjecting now, has been responsible for much of that misinformation. I actually complimented the shadow minister last night—that is, I compared him favourably to my other opponent, the member for Sturt. Even today I am prepared to say he does compare favourably to the member for Sturt. Last night when we were debating the transitional and consequential bill to the Fair Work Act he appeared to understand a bit about this five-year period. He had been on the front of the Australian saying he was going to move amendments relating to this five-year period. Then I was able to explain to him that actually the five-year period was already in existence and—surprise, surprise!—it was in legislation that they voted for, indeed in the first bill introduced into this parliament after the election.

We had a discussion last night in the parliament where the shadow minister appeared to understand about this five-year period, even though his system would have been one where state based differences stayed for five years and then there would have been a chaotic drop-dead date where everybody went to the new system over 24 hours. Our system was a gradual phase-in over a full five years. We had an extensive discussion about this five-year period, so you would understand my confusion when this morning on ABC radio the opposition spokesperson on workplace relations said this.

Photo of Michael KeenanMichael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | | Hansard source

I wasn’t on ABC radio this morning!

Photo of Julia GillardJulia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

The shadow minister can make a personal explanation if he wants to deny that these are his words. The quote is as follows:

What the government’s saying is that they are just going to implement these new awards holus bolus on January 1 2010. What that means is if you’re in a state which has a lower award base than another state you’re going to face a massive increase in your operating costs from the 1st of January.

This is absolute rubbish and the shadow minister knows that—and he would have known it when he was saying it, because not 24 hours before we had been debating in this parliament the nature of the five-year transition. Then, in order to whip up fear and hysteria, he deliberately makes a public statement that he knows when he is making it does not replicate the provisions of the legislation or what is happening with award modernisation. He has gone out there to try and scare honest, hardworking small business people into thinking that modern awards come into force in full effect on 1 January 2010 when he knows that there is a fully available five-year transition period. In fact, he knows that so well that he and his political party voted for it when they voted for our first piece of Fair Work legislation.

Can I say this: Australians should not be misled by the twisting and turning and misrepresentations of the party that so desperately want to keep Work Choices. This is all that this is about—trying to run a fear campaign so in the next few sitting weeks they can go to the Senate and hold up two pieces of Fair Work legislation to prevent the start of our system on 1 July and ensure that Work Choices lives a few days, weeks or months longer. That is what this campaign is about. It is a campaign of fear, a campaign of misrepresentation and part of their continuing campaign to keep Work Choices—which they will always stand for. They will always stand for ripping the safety net away from hardworking Australians.

Photo of Kevin RuddKevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.