Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about a matter of public interest out of concern for Western Australian workers—workers who the West Australian government would see fit to leave out of the critical work of nation building and leave out of our nation’s new Fair Work legislation. In this time of global economic uncertainty, in which people are losing their jobs, people want, need and deserve security and certainty in their employment system. Now more than ever they want to see fair industrial relationships.

The Rudd Labor government is giving the nation tools to shore up economically and industrially against this global economic tidal wave. But the West Australian government seems to be attempting to distract West Australia’s attention from its failure to handle the consequences of the current international economic crisis in Western Australia. It seems to be bent on harking back to the failures of Work Choices and the divisive relationships it put in place. The WA government seems to want to use workers as the scapegoat for it being asleep at the wheel.

There is one thing I agree with the West Australian government about. In its submission to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee inquiry into the Rudd government’s Fair Work Bill, the government said:

It is critical in the current economic climate that workplace laws encourage flexibility, productivity and business confidence.

I could not agree more. But in the same paragraph the government also said:

The WA Government is concerned that the bargaining, transfer of business, unfair dismissal and right of entry provisions of the Bill will negatively affect Western Australian workplaces.

I say this is patently untrue. Similarly, the federal opposition are incorrectly implying that the Fair Work Bill will cost jobs. This is scaremongering and scapegoating at its best. They are trying to bring us back to the old Work Choices debate that was held before, and lost at, the last election—a debate that was played and lost on the vote of the Australian people. They are trying to manipulate feelings of insecurity about the consequences of the global economic downturn and attach them to the government’s Fair Work legislation.

As UnionsWA Secretary Dave Robinson said at the Perth hearings of the Fair Work Bill inquiry:

… if there ever was a time for improved workplace laws, it is certainly now as the global economic crisis is felt across all nations, with working people suffering considerably from the fallout.

The industrial landscape must change in a way that affords those millions of Australian workers the rights and protections that are necessary in such a global downturn.

Yet the WA government continues to scaremonger about the right-of-entry provisions in the proposed legislation. There have been no complaints about right of entry and inspection of records in WA, where we currently have such provisions. WA Liberals do not want to sign up to a unified national system of IR laws. They want to keep certain WA workers in unfair industrial relationships. They do not want to be part of our nation-building exercise. I say this is tragic, given the scale of job losses in my home state. I will give you just a few examples. From Argyle Diamonds we have lost some 300 to 500 workers. From Newcrest Mining at Telfer, some 400 workers are projected to lose their jobs; from Norilsk Nickel at Waterloo, some 400 workers; and from Rio Tinto’s head office, some 600 workers. Those are just a few examples from the list I have of the current job losses that Western Australia is facing in the mining industry.

But I say that workers and their unions are already part of the bigger plan for our country. In WA we have already seen workers with Alcoa forfeit pay rises to help ensure that production remains competitive in this tough economic climate. Unions are working hand in hand with people who are losing jobs in the mining sector, providing practical support, counselling and finding new employment opportunities. These very same unions have approached the WA state government to say, ‘Let’s work together,’ like they are doing in Queensland, with tripartite arrangements between government, business and unions. But there has been a deafening silence in response from the Western Australian state government. It is a crying shame because now more than ever we need partnership and cooperation.

The Rudd government is working hard to reduce the impact of the current global economic crisis on the economy, families and jobs. We have a massive nation-building plan before us, a plan that will provide jobs during this period of economic downturn, both through new infrastructure projects and by encouraging consumer spending; a plan that will provide financial assistance to those ordinary Australians who are most likely to be adversely affected by the downturn, to minimise the harm that it will inevitably inflict on workers and families; and a plan that will, at the same time, set Australia up to get maximum benefit from the economic recovery when it comes, by enhancing Australia’s productive capacity. The infrastructure projects the government is supporting will improve our productive capacity by ensuring that essential productive capacity such as roads, ports, railways and our broadband network are of a first-class standard. But, even more importantly, as we have seen this week, there is all of our new spending on education and training. This will enhance Australia’s productive capacity by ensuring that our greatest resource, our people, are ready to take advantage of the benefits a global recovery will bring when it comes.

We need to be ready for the jobs of the future, as part of a flexible workforce under a fair industrial relations system, including new jobs in a greener economy. We should make no mistake—a responsible Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and a single national industrial relations system for private sector workers are essential steps to modernise Australia. And it is this capacity to take full advantage of the global recovery, to seize new job opportunities and new business opportunities as soon as they arise, that we must ensure if we are to minimise the negative impact of this downturn on the fiscal position of Australian governments and on the welfare of the Australian people. It is this task that needs to be the focus of all Australian governments and all sides of politics right now, not some worn out, irrelevant debate about industrial relations. Labor knows this; the union movement knows this—the question is: does the federal opposition? In particular, does the Western Australian state government?

The WA government needs to work with the federal Labor government to facilitate the rollout of funds to support communities, to provide them with the facilities they require for the future and the jobs they desperately need right now and the improvements to primary and secondary schools, local government projects and public housing. For the sake of all Australians I hope the Western Australian government has its priorities right. My home state rode the biggest boom in years, under a state Labor government. And by rights, by virtue of its natural resources and the resourcefulness of its people, I believe WA will also play a crucial part in leading the way to recovery—if the WA government plays its part. If Troy Buswell can resist the temptation to try and score cheap political points by attempting to revive a debate over industrial relations that the last federal election settled once and for all, and if the coalition can stay focused on the real task at hand, WA will benefit and so, in the process, will the rest of the country.