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

The first thing people listening to this broadcast should concern themselves about is this: do not believe the Australian Labor Party when they bandy figures about. I remember when we first introduced these changes. I was making—and I admit this—a brave prediction that there would be 75,000 new jobs potentially created by these reforms. I was pilloried by the other side and I am glad I will be able to report later on in question time that the figure is now in excess of 400,000. So, when the Labor Party deal with figures, let us make sure that they are factual.

The situation is that there has been an overwhelming response to the Australian government’s Australian workplace agreements, and indeed workers and employers are signing up at record levels—a mechanism that has driven jobs growth in this country and a mechanism that Kevin Rudd would destroy as soon as he possibly could, throwing all those people into great uncertainty. In relation to the processing of the fairness test, can I say this: we as a government have always believed in making sure that workers in the Australian workplace are treated fairly and equitably.