Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Women) Share this | Hansard source

That is exactly the point of what we are doing. At the end of the six-month period, where you have had 100 items that you were negotiating, you have managed to get agreement—as it will be in most cases—on 95 of those items but cannot reach agreement on those final five. To ensure that the group of employees, who are desperate to get into a job and start on a project, are able to commence their jobs in a timely fashion and to ensure that we can get the project up and running, that is exactly what this bill does. It provides a release valve. You can go off to the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission, and the Fair Work Commission will be able to look at the prevailing industry standards. It does not actually have to approve the agreement, but, if it does, it will be in relation to the prevailing industry standards.