Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Hutchins. It is such a good question, you will probably get more before you leave. The federal government returned fairness and balance to the industrial relations landscape in Australia when we introduced the Fair Work Act. We introduced that act after lengthy consultations with all industrial parties because we understand that the industrial relations system must provide a fair framework for both employers and employees. The Fair Work Act provided a balanced framework for delivering fair and productive workplaces, and at the heart of the system is enterprise bargaining based on the principle of good-faith negotiation. I am pleased that thousands of employers and their employees are getting on with the business of bargaining under the Fair Work Act.

If a party fails to bargain in good faith, both the union and the employer can ask Fair Work Australia, the independent umpire, for assistance in dealing with a bargaining dispute. In stark contrast, the legislation being introduced by the New South Wales government seeks to undermine the checks and balances this government put in place and to deny public-sector workers the rights enjoyed by all other Australian workers. Their bill seeks to treat those government workers in New South Wales as second-class citizens.