Senator Eric Abetz

Senate Opposition Leader, Eric Abetz, today assured Tasmanians that the Cascade brewery would stay in South Hobart.

"Senator Christine Milne's claim that it is somehow under threat is simply shameless scare-mongering," Senator Abetz said today.

The Coalition has today welcomed the Government's back down on the regulation that would place 316 community sector organisations in Queensland under extreme financial pressure.  

"This is a win for common sense that will ensure that 316 community sector organisations that do fantastic work in the Queensland community won't be shut down," Senator Eric Abetz, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations said today.

"This afternoon in the Senate the Greens sided with Labor and voted against a Coalition Motion condemning the Government's Malaysia swap deal," Senator Abetz said today. 

"Astoundingly this is a complete reversal of their previous position."

"The Greens today voted against my motion that: The Senate rejects the Government's attempts to provide inadequate protections for asylum seekers in its proposed legislation to resurrect its Malaysian asylum seeker deal."

Journalist: Overnight Tony Abbott pretty much ruled out WorkChoices coming back. Do you welcome that, that there won't be any individual contracts?

Senator Abetz: WorkChoices is dead buried and cremated. We all know that. Its been well established. The Coalition has learnt its lesson from the 2007 election result and that remains off the agenda.

In relation to individual workplace agreements, Tony Abbott has set out our position and that is it.