Kim Beazley gave a preview yesterday of one aspect of
the message Labor will give the people at the next federal election – however
you vote in the House of Representatives, don’t let John Howard keep control of
the Senate. The Opposition Leader was commenting on an AAP news agency report
that the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) was proposing a raft
of further workplace changes, including cuts to sick leave and overtime
entitlements.

According to the report based on a leaked document, the
ACCI had held “secret” talks with Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews
about the proposed changes. Which prompted Labor leader Beazley to say of Mr
Howard: “He is going to revisit this, at least in the period of time he has
Senate control, and we are going to get even more extreme laws. John Howard is
planning his next assault with the Chamber of Commerce, but we will stop
him.”