Benefits flow from Howard government IR reforms

Hansard: 30 October 2007 ASSEMBLY

Mr CLARK (Box Hill) — The September edition of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s ACCI Review highlights the benefits to Australians of the federal coalition government’s workplace reforms. Since March 2006 employment has risen by 417 000 — a growth rate of 2.8 per cent per annum, well above the long-term average. Full-time employment has grown by 3.3 per cent. Real wages are also continuing to grow, and grow affordably. Investment is at an all-time high of 29.4 per cent of GDP (gross domestic product) and it is growing in most sectors of the economy, not just mining.

Labour productivity growth is also running well above the long-term average, at a trend of 2.1 per cent per annum, even though productivity usually falls in times of strong employment growth. Productivity has been boosted both by the unfair dismissal reforms and the crackdown on illegal and coercive activity in the building industry. Industrial disputes are at their lowest level since records began in 1913, even though Victoria has the worst strike record in the nation, with 54 per cent of all disputes nationwide in the year to June. It was therefore very disturbing to hear media reports this morning that Victorian construction industry union officials are planning a GST, or ‘Get square time’, campaign after 24 November, should federal Labor win office. That is exactly what happened in Western Australia in 2001. The Labor government was elected on the Saturday, and on the Monday the unions were going around to building sites inflicting retribution on employers.

It is clear that the Brumby government cannot manage industrial relations, with half the government willing to pander to the unions and inflict huge costs on private employers and the other half seeking to impose centralised, rigid and inflexible wages policies on public sector unions.