The government is undoubtedly eager to make industrial relations a major issue at the next election. Thus yesterday’s release of the review of the Fair Work Act was accompanied by much huffing and puffing from Bill Shorten about what the opposition’s position is.
The Coalition’s actual position is that it is so scarred by WorkChoices that it won’t do anything to give Labor the chance to run another scare campaign. Thus Tony Abbott’s insistence that, despite the Coalition being headed for a massive win, despite business insisting change is required, despite many Liberal MPs demanding change, his government would not do anything beyond “cautious” changes to the existing legislation.
That’s in spite of his own insistence, in the face of all evidence, that the Fair Work Act has major problems.
But Abbott’s unusual caution is justified. Polling shows more than half of all voters believe the Liberals would bring back WorkChoices regardless of what Abbott says; nearly half express concern about the prospect. Perhaps they’re right; Abbott himself declared in his book Battlelines that WorkChoices was a political mistake but may not have been an economic mistake.
The mere presence of IR in public debate appears to be unhelpful to the opposition in this regard; recently, levels of concern about the return of WorkChoices have increased as the “productivity debate” has been ramped up by business.
And if that’s true, Shorten doesn’t really need to get Abbott talking about IR. The longer business talks about the need to dump the Fair Work Act, the more voters might feel that’s exactly what the opposition will do.
Perhaps it really is time for Abbott to listen to his colleagues and take a bolder position on IR.
Work Choices, by pushing for lower wages, was intended to promote higher profits and, as a result, the interest that can be paid on loans and consequently produce a higher Australian dollar which destroys manufacturing. (the real source of wealth according to Adam Smith)
This is an “economic mistake” for Australia, but not for those whom Abbott represents.
Politics is getting those whom Abbott doesn’t represent to vote for their own demise.
“Capitalists have an interest to deceive and oppress the public” Adam Smith, not Karl Marx.
And he is easier to read!
Here we go. A Crikey editoral calling for Abbott to be bolder on IR. What a joke. Hamis Hill gives the lie to it all by going straight to the Work Choices bogey man. Abbott is not silly enough to touch it, though I inderstand how much the Crikey warriors of the left want him to.
Boo! Workchoices!
Yes! Abbott, talk about Workchoices! Every word you utter will bleed Coalition voters. Where to, who knows?
David Hand – “we have some serious workplace relations issues in this country. There is a flexibility problem. There is a militancy problem. Above all else, there is a productivity problem.” This is what Abbott said yesterday, any dill could see that what he is trying to say here is that we need to get rid of unions, get rid of penalty rates and cut wages and conditions – all these things were part of workchoices.
Abbott does not need to be bolder per se, just tell us what his plans are – he can’t say he thinks there are massive problems wit FWA but only plan modest changes?
And how exactly is productivity effected by FWA?
Well Tony’s man in Queensland, Cando, is leading the charge….. Want to know what an Abbott Government will look like, keep an eye up north….