Page 4845 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 14 December 2005
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place lately. Of course we will have the debate again and we will continue to have the debate as long as people want to put it up.
One of the differences this time has been, though, that I have not heard Karin MacDonald—I do not know whether she has spoken on this yet—quoting from the Rerum novarum as she did last time. I am not quite sure why the change, but I heard Mr Hargreaves earlier in the day quoting, if not church documents, then certainly church figures. It has been a bit of a common theme here.
I found it interesting that Mr Quinlan was able to keep a straight face when he said that the Howard government has been so fortunate to have been in these good economic times for the last 10 years. It could not be anything to do with the good economic record, with the economic reforms that they have had. Of course during these fortunate 10 years we have seen recessions in most of the other industrialised economies and no recession in this country. I guess it is the global economic conditions that have propped us up for the last 10 years. I suspect that the Treasurer was struggling to keep a straight face as he delivered those lines earlier.
I want to talk a little bit about terms and conditions under the federal government’s workplace relations reforms. Some of the words in the motion are about how terms and conditions will essentially be lost. The Treasurer spoke about the fact that it is about the lowest common denominator. That is why there is a safety net; that is the purpose here. It is a fact that currently most people do not get award wages; most people get well above award wages, and that will continue, and above award conditions, and that will continue to be the case. But the safety net will continue for those who need it. That is the important point to be made here.
Employees will be able to keep their conditions until they agree to new arrangements with their employer. There is no obligation to enter into a new agreement under the new system. Conditions which will exist in awards can also exist in agreements which will now be able to run for up to five years rather than the current maximum of three. The bill will introduce universal statutory minimum standards for the first time at a federal level.
The Australian fair pay and conditions standard will contain the following minimum conditions: minimum and award classification wages; four weeks paid annual leave, with an additional week for shift workers, with the option for employees to cash out two weeks leave but only at the request of the employee; 52 weeks unpaid parental leave; 10 days paid personal and carers leave, including sick leave, for employees with more than 12 months service; plus two days of paid compassionate leave, plus an additional two days of unpaid carers leave per occasion will be available in emergency situations for employees who have used up their paid leave; and a maximum 38-hour working week. These are the safety net conditions that will underpin the new system.
What we have heard from the Labor Party consistently for the last 10 years on the issue of industrial relations, every time there has been a suggested change, has been that this is going to mean the end of us, this is going to be a terrible thing for workers, this is going to be a terrible thing for Australia. Mr Mulcahy earlier quoted from Kim Beazley in 1996 when some of the industrial relations reforms were going through. Senator Kim Carr said:
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