❓ The Minister criticises the similarities between the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation and the former Liberal government's industrial relations system in WA, highlighting negative impacts on wages and working conditions. The Minister uses the question to attack the opposition's economic record.
AnsweredQoN 433Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS POLICIES - LIBERAL GOVERNMENTS
(1) Can the minister explain to the house the similarities between the Howard government’s so-called WorkChoices legislation and the former Liberal government’s industrial relations system? (2) Do we need to solicit the services of Michael J. Fox for Back to the Future Part IV? Mr J.J.M. BOWLER
(1) Can the minister explain to the house the similarities between the Howard government’s so-called WorkChoices legislation and the former Liberal government’s industrial relations system? (2) Do we need to solicit the services of Michael J. Fox for Back to the Future Part IV? Mr J.J.M. BOWLER
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
(2) Do we need to solicit the services of Michael J. Fox for Back to the Future Part IV? Mr J.J.M. BOWLER replied: (1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER replied: (1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
(1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
(2) Do we need to solicit the services of Michael J. Fox for Back to the Future Part IV? Mr J.J.M. BOWLER replied: (1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER replied: (1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
(1)-(2) First, I praise the member for Roe for being a part of our orange campaign day of action. I will tell Kevin Reynolds and co in the union movement that the member for Roe wore an orange tie in support. The simple answer to the question is yes. We have experienced what WorkChoices is about. We have also experienced Graham Kierath’s first, second and third wave of draconian legislation which, more than anything else, caused the Court government to lose the election that people did not think it would lose. When I first became a member of Parliament, I heard the Leader of the House say that after those years under Kierath, the minimum wage in Western Australia was $50 a week lower than the minimum wage in all other states. The government had the authority to increase that by about $50. At that time, the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Cottesloe, said that that measure would turn back the economy and ruin it. Was the member for Cottesloe right? How has the economy gone since then? Mr C.J. Barnett : I’m sorry; I was not listening. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : I said that when this government increased the minimum wage by $50, the member for Cottesloe said that that measure would ruin the Western Australian economy and cause unemployment. Was the member right? No, he was not. The economy has never done better. That $50 increase has more than doubled to an increase of well over $100. I want to talk about the difference between Graham Kierath’s industrial relations model and WorkChoices. John Howard based his model on Kierath’s model. The rest of Australia is now experiencing what we experienced during the Liberal Party’s reign. As I have said, Australian workplace agreements come in two forms. One form of AWAs increases pay and considers what workers want. Good on them - we support that. The other form of AWAs drives down conditions and drives up the hours of work. This government will not have that. Under a federal Labor government that will not happen. Let us talk about flexibility. Do members opposite know what flexibility means in the goldfields? It means more hours of work. The other day I met a truckie who drives on a certain highway. I will not mention the name of the highway because that might give it away. He comes to Perth and drives through the metropolitan area. An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
An opposition member: It is the Great Eastern Highway. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
Mr J.J.M. BOWLER : No, it is not the Great Eastern Highway. The truckie drives through Perth. He works a minimum of 14 hours a day. Sometimes if things do not go right, he has to work 16 and 17-hour days. I asked him whether he worked three or four day a week. He told me that he works 14 hours a day, six days a week. He works 84 hours a week. That complies with his logbook conditions. Given those conditions, he may as well be driving a massive weapon through the streets of Perth. That is what the Liberal Party wants; it wants a deregulated market that will lead to workers working those ridiculous hours. People in the eastern states will do to John Howard what Western Australian voters did to the Richard Court government.
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