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

I thank the senator for his question, his first question, and it is a good one. The Fair Work Act replaces over 100 years of fragmented workplace relations law with a predicted net benefit to Australian business of around $4.8 billion over the next 10 years. Also, all the indicators released so far show that the Fair Work Act is working well. Modern awards have been successfully implemented, creating huge savings for industry in terms of simplification and cutting red tape, and, as we know, industrial disputes are down, the number of agreements made is up and wages growth remains moderate and contained.

Unfortunately, not everyone is reaping the benefits of our national workplace relations system. Only one state prevents a truly national system becoming a reality. Businesses and workers in Western Australia still have to deal with the red tape and inefficiencies of working in two systems. However, the future for Western Australian business is looking brighter after a significant barrier was lifted yesterday. Yesterday, Premier Barnett announced the shelving of the radical agenda recommended by the Amendola report into Western Australia's workplace relations system. He decided to abandon the Work Choices approach, and the good thing about that, apart from the Liberal Party in Western Australia coming to their senses, is that there is now nothing standing in the way of Western Australia referring their workplace relations powers to the Commonwealth and enjoying the benefits that the Fair Work Act has created for the rest of the country. They can join the national system. They can take the advice of the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the advice of business, and refer their powers to the Commonwealth and allow us to create one national industrial relations system, which this country has been chasing for many years now. It would be a great decision if Western Australia decided to refer their powers. (Time expired)