Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

They actually stifle productivity. Senator O'Sullivan, you're right. These will hurt the ability of our economy to be more adaptable, to ensure that their work and their embrace of new technologies, of flexible workplace arrangements, of consensus in workplaces, will be stifled and hurt. Productivity will hurt and be damaged further as a result.

We know that because the immediate reaction from business this morning has been to see that this is a devastating day for Australian businesses. It's a devastating day because it is going to constrain businesses and their ability to be as productive and successful as possible. And the more productive they are, the more successful they are, the more they are able to grow, the more they are able to employ, the more they are able to pay and the more tax they can contribute. That is the virtuous cycle we seek to have.

Yes, of course, we need and support strong, effective industrial relations laws in our country. As I said earlier, we have been arguing for weeks now that the non-controversial elements of these laws should be passed as they relate to small business redundancies, to protections against discrimination, to asbestos safety and to greater rights for first responders. We've been there. We backed that. We support this. It's the damaging elements buried in this legislation that we oppose, and we oppose them out of interest for all Australians because ultimately a weaker Australian economy is going to hurt everybody in the long run. A weaker Australian economy will see fewer jobs available for people in the future. There will be less well paid jobs, despite what the government may say. A weaker economy will see so many of those who get to negotiate getting poorer outcomes.

The government and its sausage-machine factory on legislation, is letting Australians down today. It's a devastating and disappointing day for what it will mean for our economy, and the way the Labor Party have brought this forward to this place today is a shame on them.