Page 3821 - Week 14 - Thursday, 10 December 1992
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MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (3.39): Mr Deputy Speaker, as was said at the beginning of this debate, what would Mrs Carnell know about this? Her speech has demonstrated clearly that she knows nothing. From somebody who said that she would sack a worker rather than provide a working environment where there was a designated work group under the new occupational health and safety laws that were introduced by the Labor Government - - -
Mrs Carnell: I did not say that.
Mr De Domenico: Can you repeat that for the record, to make sure that it is in Hansard?
MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell indicated very clearly that, rather than have a designated work group, she would ensure that her work force was only nine even if it meant disposing of a worker. This is the attitude that is behind the speech that we just heard on industrial relations.
When it comes to the demonstration by workers in the ACT recently, they among 100,000 other workers across this country demonstrated very clearly that they wanted to bring to the attention of all Australians the dreadful prospect of the then version of "frightpack" and all its appendages and the dreadful prospect of the spread of the conditions which had been imposed in Victoria by one Kennett. The sorts of conditions which were imposed there were imposed against a background where that particular Premier, when in opposition, said, "Nobody will lose a dollar". Immediately on coming into office he made sure that thousands upon thousands lost hundreds of dollars. It is very clear that thousands upon thousands will be put in a position of losing more, and all because of the policies which were put in place by the Liberals in Victoria, and all because of policies which are mirrored in the Federal "frightpack" policy and its appendages.
You have to know that there is a moving target there. Amongst some of the back-flips that we have seen recently, it is likely that the emphasis on industrial relations might change to suit the polls. But we know that at the end of the day it does not matter what they say before the election; it will be different after. It will be just like Jeff Kennett. They will promise one thing one day and do something else the next. That is the sort of approach that those 100,000 workers across Australia wanted to bring to the attention of Australian people in the lead-up to the Federal election. They know that the impact of the Federal Liberal Opposition's policies would be horrendous.
There has been some criticism of members of this Assembly for participating in that particular rally. I have to say, Mr Deputy Speaker, that those people can criticise all they like; it will not change my mind, because those workers and people from this Assembly have a right to demonstrate to draw attention to those problems. In the perfect world for the Liberals nobody would have the right to demonstrate. Nobody would have the right even to oppose them, if you take what Mrs Carnell was saying.
Mr Kaine: In a perfect Liberal world everybody would have jobs and there would be no need for it.
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