Tony Abbott is steering the political narrative into some treacherous waters this week: industrial relations.
After he announced his intention to scrap penalty rates and exempt many small businesses from unfair dismissal laws, the Government and ACTU were quick to raise the specter of the Howard government’s much-maligned WorkChoices policies.
The Coalition has been on the defensive, saying there are key differences between its plans and that of its predecessors.
But will the voters buy it? Or is Abbott leading the Coalition straight into another scare campaign ambush by the ALP and unions?
Here’s how the pundits see it:
The Australian
Editorial: Industrial relations is the debate we have to have
The national interest will not be served by a government determined to take the labour market back to the 1970s…
Hannan: Gillard prepares to launch a scare campaign
Abbott’s strategy does contain risks but Gillard is optimistic if she thinks he will make the mistakes of the former prime minister.
The Age
Editorial: WorkChoices failed once. That was enough.
Why Mr Abbott would want to restore the least popular features of a system that deprived his party of office is mysterious
Michelle Grattan: Shift in focus risky for Abbott
Some of its proposed changes are pre-WorkChoices, but it will have a struggle to make the distinction in people’s minds.
Elsewhere…
The Gutter Trash: Abbott Exhumes the Rotting Corpse of WorkChoices
So let me get this right. Julie Bishop thinks that workers are “suffering” because they earn more for working on weekends?
After Abbott’s scare campaign on the ETS the Liberal’s will richly deserve the scare campaign Labor will run on Work Choices revisited.
Gillard will run that campaign and her incisive way of cutting through to the electorate (Rudd is not doing well at this at the moment) will ensure that the campaign really bites. Abbott will soon deeply regret pushing any changes to IR law.
OF course IT WILL COME BACK minchin said it did not go FAR ENOUGH
NOT LET US FORGET
O AND i also think the medi bank thing will go further dont you
I am surprised that Abbott hasn’t suggested that a bit of unemployment would be good for the economy – driving down wages and making Australia more competitive.
with his comments about the poor always going to be with us, and homelessness being a lifestyle choice, Abbott really seems intent upon cementing the Libs as the Nasty Party. How come so few media picked up on the criticism from the Salvos?
Workchoices II: The Coalition of the living dead