Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Before these changes occurred, every week within Australia there were 40,000 terminations of employment, and 12,000 of those were involuntary. So it is not surprising that the Australian Labor Party can come into this chamber and refer to a few examples, given that we know that before the legislation came in 12,000 were occurring each and every week.

In relation to the specifics of Senator Hogg’s question, I indicate to him that I am not aware of the specific examples to which he is referring. However, the sparse hint of information provided in relation to the circumstances might suggest that these are matters in which the Office of Workplace Services would be very interested. I would encourage every single Australian worker, if they believe that they have been unfairly or improperly dealt with by their employer, to avail themselves of the opportunity of ringing up the Office of Workplace Services and ascertaining what their rights are.

The recent example of the abattoir at Cowra was very instructive to the Australian workforce. The trade union movement sought to make a song and dance about the situation and were unable to effect any outcome for the workers but, once the Office of Workplace Services became involved, the workers were all back in work again. That shows the Australian workforce that the Office of Workplace Services, which we set up, has more punch and pull than the now discredited trade union movement, which represents only about 20 per cent of the Australian workforce. The Office of Workplace Services represents all workers, whether they are union members or not. It is not surprising that more and more Australian workers are turning to the Office of Workplace Services to get good, effective industrial outcomes rather than going to certain elements of the trade union movement.