Page 3784 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 18 October 2005
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The Australian fair pay and conditions standard, which will protect workers’ wages and conditions in the agreement-making process, will be part of the new system. It will enshrine, in fact, a set of minimum conditions in federal legislation for the first time. There will be an ongoing role for the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, although I have to say that I have, in my 25 years of dealing with the AIRC, been less impressed for most of that time by its capacity to deliver sensible and reasonable outcomes. I have seen so many examples where it has conducted itself in such a way that it has failed to deliver positive guidance for the parties and left many parties before it dissatisfied.
The new arrangements will protect, as I said earlier, against unlawful termination of employment and will better balance the unfair dismissal laws. There is this view that anyone who is dismissed must be in the right. I am sorry; having seen many cases, I know there are many people out there who, for the $50, feel it is worth a try on. There have been indefensible cases of people whose employment has been terminated and who have pursued an employer and received several thousand dollars compensation because people do not have time to argue the toss. I know there are rogue employers—I am not going to stand here and say every employer is perfect—but do not tell me that the equation does not occur on the other side.
What this legislation is about, though, is ensuring a better system for the bulk of Australians who are genuinely looking for a progressive economy, who are looking for a workplace that is reflective of their needs. At the same time I believe that their fundamental rights are going to be preserved under this legislation and the gloom and doom forecast on so many other occasions will again be proven wrong.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Children, Youth and Family Support, Minister for Women and Minister for Industrial Relations) (4.51): Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is good to be able to rise and speak in favour of your MPI today. It is always fantastic to hear Mr Mulcahy on industrial relations. I enjoy it immensely.
What we have just heard, as we heard earlier in question time, is an apologist for the federal government, someone who accepts that what the federal government says is correct; that everything behind WorkChoices is good; that there is nothing to worry about; that all the community concern out there raging across our community is obviously misguided, incorrect and probably generated by the conspiracy of gloom and doom advertising campaign of the union movement which does not deal with the substantive issues. Again, as we heard, Mr Mulcahy spoke about greater flexibility and moving towards a simpler national system.
It is always interesting to hear conservatives talk about greater flexibility. I think it was Paul Keating who, many years ago, talked about this in relation to John Howard and conservatives talking about flexibility in the workplace. It is always flexibility down; it is not flexibility up. It is not about opportunity; it is not about improving conditions. It is about bringing them down to a minimum standard. That is the level playing field that you operate on.
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