Senator Eric Abetz

“Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations Chris Evans in a response to a dixer in Question Time today left out some very important facts about Labor's Fair Work Act,” Senator Eric Abetz said today.

“Responding to a question from a Labor backbencher, Senator Evans still couldn't find anything positive to say in defence of the debacle Julia Gillard's legislative baby has caused for workers.”

1. He himself has identified concerns with the operation of the Fair Work Act, specifically individual flexibility agreements;
2. The Prime Minister and the Minister have been running around all week telling us how aspects of the Fair Work Act are untested and therefore shouldn't be touched;
3. Today the Government introduced their bill to water down protections for people working in the building and construction industry, taking a tough cop off the beat; and most interestingly
4. Labor MP Ed Husic earlier this week called on some changes to the Fair Work Act - changes that sound very similar to those put forward by Greens MP Adam Bandt today.

“The biggest threat to the Fair Work Act is the Green tail that wags this Labor dog,” Senator Abetz said.

“Labor must tell us where they stand on the Greens' radical proposal that will empower unions even further.”

“It's time for Minister Evans to come clean and admit that if the Government used section 431 of the Fair Work Act last Saturday instead of fumbling through the whole debacle, Qantas wouldn't have grounded their fleet.”

“If the Minister were serious about delivering for Australian workers, he would keep the ABCC, he would have taken action in the Qantas debate sooner, called on the pending review of the Fair Work Act and he would have ruled out the Green's radical proposal that workers should be able to go on strike over anything which the Greens put forward earlier today,” Senator Abetz concluded.