Senator Eric Abetz

The response by Safe Work Australia Chair, Mr Tom Phillips to valid concerns raised by volunteer organisations about the new Work Health and Safety laws is both disingenuous and unhelpful, according to Opposition Workplace Relations spokesman Senator Eric Abetz.

"To dismiss the valid concerns by the volunteer sector as 'inaccurate and alarmist' without engaging in the detail is a disservice to the community as well as being disingenuous," Senator Abetz said.

More than a month after the Prime Minister's announcement of her new Ministry, there are still no details of Ministerial representational arrangements.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Senator Eric Abetz has written to the Prime Minister asking for the arrangements to be published as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister must explain why Fair Work Australia refused NSW Police’s request for a meeting to discuss the Craig Thomson matter.

At the same time as Ms Gillard was saying Police inquiries should be allowed to run their course, Fair Work Australia was refusing to meet with NSW State Crime Command to discuss the Thomson issue.

This is a very bad look.

The question is, whatever its own investigatory constraints, why didn’t Fair Work Australia do everything to cooperate with the NSW Police?

After all, at this stage Fair Work Australia had spent two and a half years investigating these matters.

It is therefore imperative that Ms Gillard provide a detailed explanation of why – on the face of documents obtained under Freedom of Information – Fair Work Australia refused NSW Police’s request for a meeting to discuss the Craig Thomson matter.

The documents obtained under FOI also show that – as at January 2011 - Fair Work Australia had spent over $320,000 on external legal and accounting advice in connection with its inquiry into the Health Services Union – matters Senator Ronaldson and I have pursued and will continue pursue at Senate Estimates.

These investigations into the Health Services Union have now been going on for nigh on three years with no conclusion and have incurred considerable costs. 

This is a disgrace.

These are matters of such seriousness that the Opposition will explore having the former General Manager of Fair Work Australia,  Mr Lee – who was promoted to the position of Fair Work Commissioner last September - brought before a Senate Estimates committee to explain his conduct.

It is also a matter of concern that Fair Work Australia refused to release these documents - even refusing to say whether or not they existed – until intervention by the Information Commissioner.

Senator Ronaldson and I will continue to hold the Government accountable for its inaction and obfuscation on the Craig Thomson issue.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s release today of a report into audits conducted in the retail sector over the last year shows that there is still a huge level of confusion with Labor's so-called 'modern awards' two years after implementation said Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Senator Eric Abetz.

The Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said today that “many employers underpay as the result of a lack of information or they make mistakes interpreting the information they have”.