Shorten’s Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil approach will do damage

20/01/12

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten’s refusal to say whether he would act on any recommendations out of the Fair Work Review is deeply troubling and will cause damage according to Opposition Workplace Relations spokesman Senator Eric Abetz.

“It’s now abundantly clear that if the review doesn’t make the recommendations that Labor want, they will just ignore it,” Senator Abetz said today.

“Mr Shorten is deluded if he thinks that there are no problems with the Fair Work Act and for Labor to take this approach will do damage not just to Australian jobs but also to the wider economy.”

“Despite the skewed terms of reference and the backgrounds of the reviewers to not even commit to take a serious look at the review is just appalling.”

“I welcome, after pressure from the Coalition, the panel’s focus on productivity and small business in their discussion paper. However we are still very concerned with the lack of transparency and the focus on ‘representative groups’.”

“I just hope that the review will provide a frank assessment of the Act’s operation,” Senator Abetz concluded.