Wed, 7th May 2008

Nelson Doorstop - Changes to workplace relations laws, Indigenous Affairs...

The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP
Leader of the Opposition

E&OE

DR NELSON:

Today we learn that the Treasury has given advice to the Government that the Government’s changes to workplace relations will increase unemployment and increase inflation. Now what this means is that the Treasury of Australia has given advice to the Australian Government that Labor’s changes to workplace relations will throw out of jobs Australian working families, the most disadvantaged will be affected by this and also that the Government’s changes to workplace relations will push up inflation.

The Treasury has told the Australian Government, it has given advice to the Australian Government - it is advice that Mr Rudd has available to him - that the Government’s rollback of workplace relations will push up unemployment, it will push up inflation, it means that the most vulnerable Australians will find it’s harder to get a job and at the same time that Mr Rudd and Mr Swan is talking up an inflationary crisis, we’ve now got Labor Party policy which has the union bosses off the lead, back into workplaces in Australia, the end result of which will be less jobs and higher inflation.

It’s interesting that Mr Rudd is frequently talking about his so called five point plan to fight inflation. The question for us is; why is he not coming clean with Australians and telling Australians that Treasury has told the Australian Government that its plan to get union bosses back into workplaces is actually going to put people out of work and push up inflation?

I say to Mr Rudd; you need to come clean with the Australian people; what is the advice that Treasury has given to you and the modelling its done in terms of the impact of your workplace relations changes on Australian working families, losing their jobs and putting up inflation?

I might also add by the way that Mr Swan in April last year said that the Government ignores Treasury advice at its peril. So I say to Mr Swan; show us the advice that Treasury has given to the Labor Government about its changes to workplace relations? We know that this is going to increase inflation, we know that it’s going to mean that people will lose their jobs and find it harder for their kids to get jobs, we need to know what Treasury has said to the Labor Government because Treasury advice to government we now know is that it’s higher inflation and less jobs.

QUESTION:

This might sound a bit wacky Dr Nelson, but some economists do argue that the unemployment rate is actually too low at the moment?

DR NELSON:

Well those economists ought to go and talk to anybody in this country that hasn’t got a job, that’s trying to find a job. The idea that unemployment is too low is only the kind of thing that could be supported by a Labor Government. We need to work toward the objective in Australia, we need to work toward the target in this country where every single person of working age, that’s able to work and wants to find a job is able to get a job. And everybody knows that as a result of Labor’s changes to workplace relations and at the same time that the Labor Government is trying to slow the rate of economic growth in Australia that by the end of this year the end result is we’re likely to have fewer working families then we’ve got at the moment.

QUESTION:

The no longer subscribes to WorkChoices because you took a pounding at the polls because of it, now you’re saying that the reforms shouldn’t rolled back, so I mean what’s the solution?

DR NELSON:

What this Treasury advice shows is that John Howard was right and Kevin Rudd is wrong. We respect the decision made by the Australian people at the election last year, and that is why we have not opposed Labor’s changes. But I have restated very strongly that in driving policy we are strongly committed to the idea of Individual Statutory Agreements with a fair no disadvantage test and also to protect small businesses from job destroying, red tape that comes with unfair dismissal laws.

QUESTION:

(inaudible)

DR NELSON:

We did not oppose the changes that the Government brought in because we heard what the Australian people said in November last year. Whilst we did not support the Government’s changes we have not opposed them and we remain very strongly to the view that Individual Statutory Agreements are an important part of job creation in Australia, so long as they’re supported by a fair no disadvantage test.

QUESTION:

But in light of this Treasury information today, should have you opposed the WorkChoices changes?

DR NELSON:

We went to the election last year with a package of workplace relations reforms which we believed were in the long term interests of Australia. We believed that those changes were important for creating jobs and keeping inflation low by not having wage breakouts from the resources sector into other parts of the Australian economy. The unions and the Labor Party spent tens of millions of dollars trying to scare Australians. Australians made a decision in the election last year, we respect it, we live in a democracy, we did not oppose what the Labor Party has done with workplace relations but the Treasury advice confirms what the Liberal and Coalition governments have believed, and that is that if we want to live in a country where every Australian is able to get a job and keep a job, we’ve got to have a flexible labour market.

QUESTION:

(inaudible)

DR NELSON:

The Australian people made a decision in November last year in relation to the election. One of the reasons they chose to support the Government was on the basis of WorkChoices. We heard what Australians said. We respect the decision that was made and for that reason we did not oppose the changes which the Government has brought in. But what Mr Rudd must do, what Mr Rudd must do now is show Australians the evidence that his changes to workplace relations will not result in unemployment and higher inflation.

It is obvious that the Treasury advice to Mr Rudd is that the workplace relations changes will increase unemployment so that there’ll be fewer working families and it will also have higher inflation. I mean you’ve got to remember that what the Government is doing at the moment is slowing the rate of growth in the Australian economy, that in itself will increase unemployment and then further to that we now know that Treasury has advised the Government that the changes to workplace relations will also increase unemployment and also increase inflation.

QUESTION:

A couple of days ago you were saying that inflation wasn’t such a problem, I guess you were playing it down a little bit, do you now have a different view on it?

DR NELSON:

You need to read very carefully what I’ve said.

The fact is that we do not have an inflationary crisis. What we do have is an inflationary challenge that needs to be addressed and it needs to be faced.

But as the Governor of the Reserve Bank said in his statement yesterday; one of the things the Reserve Bank will be looking at in terms of monetary policy and any interest rate movements in the foreseeable future, is the increase in wage demands that might flow from the expectation of high sustained inflation. And what Mr Swan, in particular, has been doing is talking up an inflationary crisis in Australia to basically hide the fact that the Government is going to cut expenditure in the forthcoming budget to fund its unfunded election promises.

QUESTION:

The Prime Minister says today that yourself and Mr Turnbull are like the tooth fairy if you believe there aren’t any problems with inflation at the moment – what’s your response to those comments?

DR NELSON:

Mr Rudd is clearly misrepresenting precisely what I have said in relation to this. And I’ll say it again - that Mr Rudd and Mr Swan for several months now have been talking up an inflationary crisis.

There’s no inflationary crisis but clearly there’s an inflationary challenge that needs to be addressed. And in addressing that inflationary challenge it’s important that we take into account that our economy is slowing. We’ve had two official rate rises from the Reserve Bank since November last year. We’ve also had increases in interest rates from the banks outside official movements. We’ve got the full impact of the global liquidity crisis yet to affect and wash through the Australian economy. And we also know that Treasury has advised the Government that Mr Rudd’s workplace relations laws, letting union bosses off the leash and back into workplaces is also going to result in higher unemployment and higher inflation.

I mean what’s important here for all of us to appreciate is that Mr Rudd and Mr Swan have basically talked up the inflationary crisis as they see it, when in fact we have an inflationary challenge to be addressed. And what they’re trying to do is to argue to Australians that they’ve got to have savage cuts in these budgets when in fact what they’re trying to do is to fund their unfunded election promises.

QUESTION:

Should there be a Northern territory style intervention into South Australia following more concerning reports of Aboriginal child abuse?

DR NELSON:

Well when you think that the report has found that 14 per cent of Aboriginal children in the Pitjantjatjara lands have suffered rape and abuse, as far as I’m concerned this is worse than the situation that exists in many third world countries as far as the treatment of children is concerned.

By any standard there is an argument here for a Northern Territory style intervention into South Australia to assist these Australian children.

I mean if this happened in any other part of the country, if this happened in any non-Aboriginal community in suburban Australia we would be calling for a lot more than a Northern Territory style intervention. And I think every Australian needs to pause and reflect on what has been found in this inquiry, what’s been found in this report, and the appalling circumstances that exist in this part of Australia.

QUESTION:

What about the initiatives that Jenny Macklin announced for the area yesterday – there was $19 billion worth of initiatives which she announced yesterday – were they enough?

DR NELSON:

These initiatives obviously are welcomed, but clearly it’s not enough. I mean we need to do everything we possible can and use every resource that we have available to us to make sure that these Australian children, these Aboriginal children, receive the same rights and protection as every other Australian child. And I think that the South Australian Government, I think the Australian Government needs to do everything within its considerable power to move determinedly to protect these children. Nothing less than that is required.

Thanks very much everybody.