Page: 19116
The Hon. PETER PRIMROSE: My question is addressed to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will New South Wales be providing a submission to the Senate committee that is inquiring into the Commonwealth Government's extreme industrial relations proposals?
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: I thank the Hon. Peter Primrose for his question. First, I am sure that members are aware that, after a prolonged, wasteful and I think probably corrupt Liberal Party propaganda campaign using Federal funds, the Federal Government has finally released its WorkChoices legislation. The detail has proved worse than the television, radio, newspaper—not to mention the hundreds of thousands of booklets, sadly not all of which were pulped—and Internet advertising or any extreme assessments led us to believe that it would be. It is little wonder that John Howard and Kevin Andrews want to ram the legislation through the Federal Parliament as quickly as possible. Even a cursory glance at the 687-page bill—which was meant to simplify industrial relations—and the supplementary explanatory memorandum of almost equal length, as well as the unknown length of associated regulations to the bill, reveals that the radical package sounds the death knell for fair and equitable industrial arrangements.
The PRESIDENT: I call the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to order for the first time.
The Hon. JOHN DELLA BOSCA: Simplicity and accessibility will disappear. Employers should brace themselves for a bumpy ride, driven by confusion and complexity. Small businesses will do well to recall the sharp spike in paperwork in the wake of the introduction of the goods and services tax and tax reform. Contrary to the rhetoric, and despite the expensive reprint, the new legislation will deliver less choice and less fairness. What it will deliver for the average Australian worker is reduced take-home pay, conditions and job security, and a deterioration of the lifestyle and living standards that Australians have held dear for generations. For employers, the legislation will deliver increased complexity and red tape—not the productivity gains and economic prosperity they had been promised would follow. Honourable members need only turn to the New Zealand example to know the truth of that assertion.
The lengths to which the Federal Government will go to stymie legitimate and necessary public debate on the bill was never more evident than when the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations formally tabled the bill and distributed just two copies of it to the Opposition and Independent members of the Commonwealth Parliament. In another undisguised attempt to make life unnecessarily difficult for those struggling to understand the 1,272-page document, the Federal Government did not provide even a table of contents. Interested parties have been given a totally unreasonable time frame to grasp the intricacies of the bill and provide comment. Submissions to the Senate inquiry are due tomorrow, only seven days after the bill was tabled.
In an equally massive undertaking, the Senate will consider public submissions—now numbering well over 3,000—in just two weeks. That is an arrogant and outrageous abuse of power. In spite of the obstacles and obvious time pressures, the New South Wales Government, in a collaborative effort with other States and Territories, has prepared a comprehensive submission in response to the Commonwealth's proposed changes. Among the most important points—and members on all sides of this Parliament should be aware of this—is that industrial relations as conceived by the Commonwealth Constitution is a shared responsibility of State and Federal governments, and remains so. Further, the true purpose of the corporations power underpinning this legislation is to regulate and limit the power of corporations—not to regulate and limit the power of people to contend with corporations.
The submission highlights that the economic justification for radical change is non-existent: there is no proof; there is no analysis. Most importantly, our submission made it abundantly clear that the successful passage of the bill will result in unfair outcomes for employees and their families, particularly vulnerable workers, including the low paid, especially women and young people and those in the regions. I am happy to announce that I will be joined by my interstate ministerial colleagues next week as we personally take our States' message to the Senate committee on behalf of New South Wales employees, small businesses and families across the State. These are wrong choices for New South Wales and the Iemma Government will resist this arrogant and divisive power grab. [Time expired.]