Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to highlight concerns of mine about the Liberal Party's recently announced IR policy. Every Australian worker should be aware of their plans. The Liberal Party are, once again, trying to attack workers' rights. They have made no secret that if they do not erode workers' rights in their first term, they will do it in their second.

The coalition have released its industrial relations policy promising sensible, careful changes, but what exactly might that mean? The details in their document are scant. However, they did give us a small insight into their plans. Let me tell you: they send a shiver down my spine.

The Leader of the Opposition has removed any doubts that the Liberal Party want to reintroduce individual agreements and allow the return of unfair contracts which undermine the wages and working conditions of working people.

I will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the people in my electorate of Bass are aware of this policy. The people in my electorate of Bass deserve a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. All Australians deserve this.

The opposition have had five years to come up with a detailed IR policy, yet the document released last week by the Liberal leader was scant. So either they have been doing nothing for the last five years, except saying no, or they have a plan for industrial relations in this country and they are deliberately keeping the details quiet from the Australian public.

The Leader of the Opposition has tried to rewrite history by suggesting that he has always been against Work Choices, and yet in 2009 he said, 'workplace reform was one of the greatest achievements of the Howard Government'. And in 2008 he said Work Choices was: 'good for wages, it was good for jobs, and it was good for workers. And let's never forget that.'

In their policy document, the Liberals make mention of 'militant building unions and dishonest union officials who continue to abuse their position'. I object to this language but it is typical of what we have come to expect from those sitting opposite. Now, let us be clear. When Labor refers to flexibility, we are talking about genuine flexibility. True flexibility benefits both employees and employers. When the Liberal Party talks about flexibility, they mean the ability to rip away pay and conditions. They want to bring back the schoolyard bully, and this argument is strengthened by the reappearance of the ABCC, the king of bullies.

Buried at the back of their policy document, they have opened the door wide open to undermining the Better Off Overall Test. On page 36, they opened the door to allowing 'non-monetary benefits' under the Better Off Overall Test. What that means is workers get pizza instead of penalty rates. I can only imagine what some unscrupulous employers would try to do in this area. I cannot imagine that those members of the Liberal Party who sit opposite agree that this is the best policy for Australian workers. Indeed, we have seen recently how hopelessly divided the coalition is. First a number of coalition MPs attacked the Leader of the Opposition's rolled-gold paid parental leave policy, where he feels only women of 'calibre' are entitled to a family. And yet another group of Liberal MPs have criticised the direct action policy.

There is a reason why the member for Warringah talks in slogans—because he fails on the substance. As soon as the coalition start talking about policy they fall apart. The Leader of the Opposition's own MPs know that he is just not up to it. The people of Australia have an important decision to make come September. They can place their vote in the Liberals and face an uncertain future. Or they can place their vote with the Australian Labor Party, the party that has delivered the NBN, fair paid parental leave, fair workplace relations laws and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The Gillard Labor government supports a fair and effective industrial relations system. We abolished Work Choices and created a balanced industrial relations system that returns fairness to our workplaces while boosting national productivity. All the data shows that our industrial system is working well, with low unemployment, low levels of industrial disputation and record levels of successful workplace agreements. Under Work Choices, more than four million workers lost basic protections and more than a million suffered real pay cuts of up to $90 a week. Many Australian Workplace Agreements cut penalty rates, overtime, holidays, shift allowances and rest breaks. Young workers, women and casuals were the worst affected. The Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Party cannot be trusted on workplace relations.