Senator Eric Abetz

The Coalition today designated commonsense and productivity as the vital ingredients missing from Australia’s workplace relations framework.

Addressing an Australian Industry Group Forum in Canberra today the Coalition Spokesman for Employment and Workplace Relations Senator Eric Abetz said, “The ideological warfare of Work Choices and Fair Work failed to deliver Australians the necessary ingredient of commonsense”.

Referring to a recent decision of the Tribunal Senator Abetz said that if agreements were reached with workers, their Unions and employers and all agreed that the workers were better off as well it was ridiculous to have the consensus agreement bowled over for ideological purity arguments.

“Labor from Canberra telling workers, their Unions and their employers that Labor knows better is both foolishly arrogant and stifles innovation which in turn increases productivity,”

“Whilst Labor talked the talk of productivity Labor fails to walk the walk because it doesn’t get it,” Senator Abetz said.

“If productivity was genuinely on the agenda the Government should be condemning the Bupa decision, the TMS deal with the MUA and the loss of student jobs at the hardware store in Terang. Instead Ms Gillard glibly tells the Australian people her new legislation is “working as expected.”

Tens of thousands of workers who were promised they wouldn’t be worse off are worse off and if Ms Gillard expected these workers to be worse off she should’ve been honest and told them so before the 2007 election,” Senator Abetz said.

“People are sick ideology and scare campaigns. They want commonsense and certainty and we will deliver both,” Senator Abetz said.