Resources, News & Commentary from Malcolm Farnsworth
The Federal Opposition’s Julie Bishop has given an extraordinary press conference in which she attempted to justify the coalition’s decision not to to oppose the government’s legislation abolishing WorkChoices.
Listen to Julie Bishop’s press conference:
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The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews, presented the Federal Government’s long-awaited ‘WorkChoices’ Legislation to the House of Representatives this morning.
Amid uproar in the House, Andrews claimed that the legislation accommodates “the greater demand for choice and flexibility in our workplaces”.
This is the text of the Second Reading Speech delivered to the House of Representatives by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews.
Today I am introducing the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill – a bill that moves Australia towards a flexible, simple and fair system of workplace laws.
Australians have come a long way by improving the way they work. Because of this, we now have one of the strongest economies in the world. We have created over 1.7 million new jobs. Australia’s unemployment rate has been markedly reduced, reaching a 30 year low and interest rates are at historically low levels.
The Federal Government’s proposed changes to industrial relations laws are not about choice but about cutting wages and reducing conditions, according to the Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley.
Addressing a press conference in Canberra, Beazley derided the notion of employees negotiating with employers: “You know that an 18 year old with a few skills, sitting down with the boss, is not going to negotiate with the boss on an equal basis.”
The Labor leader also attacked the government’s use of public money to promote its proposals. “If John Howard was confident in this legislation he would not be spending $100 million worth of taxpayers’ funds – effectively an open-ended cheque – in order to mislead absolutely everybody.” [Read more...]
Prime Minister John Howard has described his proposed workplace relations changes as “big” but “fair”, whilst refusing to guarantee that workers won’t be worse off.
“My guarantee is my record,” the Prime Minister said.
Addressing a press conference in Canberra with the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews, Howard said: “I can look the workforce of Australia in the eye tonight and say look at what has happened under my Prime Ministership over the last nine and half years. I can tell them that this reform will further strengthen the Australian economy and I can tell them directly that the foundation of more jobs and higher wages in the future is a stronger economy. All the regulations in the world can’t generate a strong economy out of thin air. And the measure of the worth of an industrial relations system is its contribution to the economic strength of the nation. And that is why I believe this system will deliver more jobs and higher wages.”
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This is the transcript of the press conference held by John Howard and Kevin Andrews.
PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Andrews and I welcome you to this news conference to mark the launch of the detailed explanation; what I might call a premium explanatory memorandum of the Government’s proposed workplace relations changes. These changes are big, but they are fair. They will further boost the Australian economy, thus generating more jobs and higher wages. [Read more...]
Following a lockup briefing for industry representatives in Canberra this morning, the details of the government’s industrial relations changes were announced.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews, announced the changes, nicknamed “Workchoices”, at a press conference.
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This is the text of a media release from the Prime Minister, John Howard.
WORKCHOICES – A NEW WORKPLACE RELATIONS SYSTEM
In May of this year I announced in Parliament the framework of the Government’s proposals to reform Australia’s workplace relations system. Today the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and I are delighted to release ‘WorkChoices – A New Workplace Relations System’ which explains, in detail, how the new workplace relations system will work. [Read more...]
The Australian Democrats have rejected the key elements of Peter Reith’s “second wave” industrial relations changes.
The Workplace Relations Minister has proposed legislation which would further strip industrial awards of conditions, require secret ballots on strike votes, and introduce user-pays mediation processes. The bill also attacked union rights to enter workplaces and redefined the definition of a closed shop.
Senator Andrew Murray, the Democrats Workplace Relations spokesman, has said the bill “went too far.”
The legislation, dubbed the “More Jobs Better Pay” bill, was the subject of a Senate Committee Report released yesterday. Senator Murray issued a minority report.
The campaign against the legislation included a media campaign by the Australian Council of Trade Unions around the slogan “just say no”. A rally attended by about 500 workers was held yesterday outside Reith’s office in Melbourne.
The legislation now appears to be facing certain defeat before Christmas. The “first wave” of industrial reforms were passed in 1996 with the support of the Democrats under the then leadership of Senator Cheryl Kernot.
It’s 9.20am and I’ve just got home after having been at Swanson Dock since 12.30am.
It really was a remarkable evening of standing around doing nothing, occasionally linking arms “in practice”, cheering at speeches, laughing at jokes, catching up with people I hadn’t seen for ages, discussing politics, ALP pre-selections and the like.
Around 4.55am the police helicopter started circling clockwise around the dock, something it kept up until just after 6.30am. Searchlights from the helicopter shone into the crowd most of this time and were met with raised fists or one-finger salutes!
After many false warnings that they were “nearly here”, the police contingent arrived just after the helicopter. Two lines of police, numbering about 100 men and women, stretched the 30 yards or so across the entrance to the dock. Four policemen on horses took up position behind these lines. There followed over two hours of restrained confrontation, occasionally moving to a state of readiness, but mostly consisting of quiet, peaceful protest, singing and chanting.
The crowd, numbering now around 3000 according to the ABC radio news, but consistently maintained at 5089 by the superb operator of the loud speaker system, was variously concerned at the impending police attack, but mostly cautiously casual, many venturing along the side of the road to view the police at close quarters.
A quiet and serious mood developed when the police were invited onto the picket line by chants of “join us”, a chant quickly replaced by “show us your badges” when it was announced that some police had removed their badges.
Around 7.00am it was announced the building workers from city sites were massing in Footscray Road, the numbers variously thought to be 500, 900 or 2000! Whatever the number, their arrival at around 7.30am was met with tumultuous applause and cheering, especially when it was realised the police were surrounded and cut off by the now massive crowd. When the police assembled in two lines facing back towards the road, it was obvious that the peaceful confrontation had been resolved in the MUA’s favour. To raucous taunts of “left, right, left, right”, the police took their leave.
News reports now suggest that the police have secured another smaller entrance to Swanson Dock. An eye-witness account I heard had the police arriving in buses and pouncing on picketers the moment they alighted. One woman has reportedly been taken to hospital.
What isn’t in doubt as far as I’m concerned is that without the large numbers of people present at the main gates to Swanson Dock, the police would have secured it as well. It is a splendid victory
As someone who spends his working life educating children about the political and constitutional processes in this country, I believe it was an important night and morning in a dispute not yet over. To see the forces of the state arrayed against some of its people is not something I will quickly forget. The intimidatory helicopter, an image straight out of a Cold War melodrama, is etched on my memory.
I’m glad I went.
