Senator Eric Abetz

Australian taxpayers should be demanding the return of the $1m spent in the less than adequate review of the Fair Work Act instituted by ex-Union boss Bill Shorten, Senator Abetz said today.

At a cost of $3000 a page, the report is a major let down and an insight into Australias productivity problems.

Having stacked the panel and skewed the terms of reference, ex-Union boss, Mr Shorten, ensured the Fair Work Act was delivered a clean bill of health.

Members of the Review Panel were hand-picked by the Government and included a former Labor adviser and others who had made glowing favourable comments about the laws on the public record.

Indeed panel member Professor McCallum had said previously it is my view that the FW Act will be with us for the next decade. Doubtless some tinkering will take place, but in my judgement its framework will remain largely intact. Not surprisingly, his report confirms his preconceived assessment and highlights why we called for the Productivity Commission to undertake the review.

Secret documents obtained under FOI show that Bill Shorten deliberately wound back the terms of reference against the advice of his own Department and the independent Office of Best Practice Regulation.

Incredibly, the Minister removed reference terms that dealt with flexibility and balancing the needs of employees and employers and those that would examine if the laws had reduced the compliance burden on business, Senator Abetz said.

The Prime Minister and Workplace Relations Minster are both on record pre-empting the Panels report with comments that Fair Work laws have got the balance right and that they would only tinker around the edges.

As recently as July, the Prime Minister said the report would be used to lock in fairness - widely recognised as Labor code for lock in privilege and power for union bosses who were already gifted 120 separate new rights and privileges under the existing Fair Work system.

And we know, having obtained further FOI documents more recently, that Minister Shorten already has policies ready to go that have been drafted by union bosses designed to increase their power and influence over ordinary everyday workers and business for political purposes.

The opportunity for a fair dinkum, real world analysis was lost almost from day one and this tainted review was always going to tell an artificial story to suit the political needs of Labor and its union bosses.

Despite the stacked panel and skewed terms of reference, this otherwise disappointing report saw the panel being mugged by reality when they addressed the glaring issues of the JJ Richards Case and the Bendigo TAFE case and the need for greater flexibility for the individual flexibility regime.

Whilst we have issues of increasing underemployment, decline in manufacturing, growing militancy and declining flexibility and productivity, no doubt Mr Shortens response will be to whitewash the review and give more power to union bosses like Bruce Wilson, Craig Thomson and Michael Williamson.

The suggestion of a name change for Fair Work Australia is emblematic of Labors policy development  change the name, change the façade, but dont change the underlying problem.

Australians understand that for Australian jobs to be protected and the wealth of our country sustained we need ongoing improvements in our workplaces. Without viable workplaces there arent sustainable jobs.

If wages increase without a commensurate increase in productivity, jobs will be lost and Australians sold short, Senator Abetz said.

The Coalition is listening to the everyday workers and employers in Australian workplaces and we know that there is a militancy, flexibility and productivity problem.

The Coalition will release a workplace relations policy in good time before the next election. It should be recalled that in recent history the ALP has only once released its full Workplace Relations policy before the election was actually called.

It will be based on finding practical solutions to practical problems in a way the embraces common sense to achieve a sensible, lasting and balanced system of workplace law.

It will aim to provide a platform for Australian workplaces to realise their full potential and share in the hope, reward and opportunity that they so badly need and dearly deserve.

We were hoping this review might be a pragmatic review providing practical solutions to the practical problems that have been emerging.

The Coalition, like all Australians, feels let down by this so-called review, Senator Abetz said.