Devil in the detail of reform
In the last edition of Libmail I mentioned that stakeholders and journalists were inundating the Coalition with requests for briefings about the proposed religious discrimination legislation – all because the Albanese Government refused to release it for them and everyone else to see.
Surprise, surprise – after almost a month, Labor still hasn’t released anything to the public.
Faith groups that represent the very people and institutions that this legislation will impact are still being left in the dark in relation to the proposed changes.
I have been able to provide these stakeholders with some information as Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has shared limited details of the legislation with me under strict conditions of confidentiality.
But this isn’t good enough.
It’s not just stakeholders who haven’t been able to scrutinise this proposed legislation yet, but also the parliament.
Significant parts of this legislative package are new and have never previously been scrutinised by a parliamentary inquiry.
There must be a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry into these proposed changes to ensure thorough scrutiny and public participation in the legislative process, especially as the parliament has never scrutinised the combined effect of a Religious Discrimination Bill coupled with changes to the Sex Discrimination Act.
You can read my latest opinion piece in the West Australian here.
Labor’s left-wing agenda is being driven in all areas of government
There was no greater example of this than the Government’s disastrous and ideologically driven Voice campaign. The Australian people saw through that and voted it down.
But Labor’s left-wing agenda is also on display across other areas – energy policy, environmental policy and, alarmingly, foreign policy particularly as it pertains to Israel and Penny Wong’s call for early recognition of Palestine.
Look at their disastrous “renewables only” energy policy or their so called “Nature Positive” environmental policies. Yes - Tanya Plibersek has backed away from some of her original plans – but even so, it is still guaranteed her planned changes will lead to lower investment in Australia and job losses – especially given that she is threatening unprecedented monetary fines and even jail terms for businesses that are judged to have breached Labor’s environmental obligations.
Of particular concern to me is what is happening on the industrial relations front.
At a time of a cost-of-living crisis, high inflation, businesses struggling with staff shortages and rapidly increasing power costs, Labor’s IR changes are making a bad situation worse. None of their measures are designed to improve productivity, jobs, growth, and investment which are the ingredients of a successful economy.
It is clear from Labor’s industrial relations agenda they are handing over workplaces to the unions. And the unions are delighted to flex their newfound muscle.
Labor’s last tranche of so-called IR Reform, which passed the Parliament earlier this year, threw up a series of twists and turns – particularly around the “right to disconnect”.
From all the feedback I have received it is clear - that because of this poor piece of the legislation - workers are likely to lose some of the flexibilities that have come to characterise the modern workplace. These flexibilities have been beneficial to both employees and employers. They’ve typically allowed employees to do things like pick up their children from school or daycare - attend personal appointments during work hours under the understanding that required work tasks will still be completed by the employee, sometimes outside normal work hours.
But with the Albanese Government making it a potential offence for employers to contact their employers outside of work hours, many businesses are saying that they will require their employees to be in the office for their standard 9 to 5 workday.
So much for flexibility.
Australia needs a workplace relations system that empowers workers and employer to come up with solutions that are good for them. We need to allow workers and employers to come up with smart ways to increase incomes for both businesses and employees too.
This is how you drive productivity and growth.
We also need workplaces that foster greater flexibility in work – something that both employers and employees want. This is how you make our workplaces more productive and competitive and give more Australians opportunities to work with higher wages.
We need to decentralise decision making to employers and employees – the opposite of what Labor has done. They are centralising decision making to the Fair Work Commission and handing power to unrepresentative unions.
We need a system that empowers agreement between employers and employees – not one that encourages disputes and fights in the Fair Work Commission.
A genuinely fair workplace relations system must be pro-employment, it must be in particular small-business friendly, and it must be flexible to respond to both the needs of employers and employees.
Australia needs a modern workplace relations system that delivers a safety net for workers, recognises the shared interests of managers and workers in an enterprise’s success, and gives all enterprises the agility they need to compete and succeed.
Any changes must be designed to improve productivity, grow wages, and enhance competition.
These are the ingredients of a successful economy.
What we can learn from Menzies
Sir Robert Menzies was future-focused, but also practical. And there are important lessons that we must take from that Menzian mind-set.
Earlier this week, Peter Dutton delivered the annual Sir Robert Menzies lecture in Melbourne.
Mr Dutton spoke about how Menzies was a learner:
He learnt from the mistakes made in his first term as Prime Minister.
He learnt not to over-promise.
He learnt to govern as a responsible leader.
He learnt to set a broad-based agenda.
He also touched on how there is a lot we can learn from John Howard’s time in office:
Stable government.
Responsible economic management.
Policies grounded in principle and pragmatism which nurtured productivity and prosperity.
An eagerness to engage in the battle of ideas.
And a desire to put the national interest first.
We can learn a lot from both of these leaders as we head into the next election.
The Coalition is a more united team than we’ve seen on either side of politics in recent history.
In addition to a great camaraderie within the Coalition, there is a strong sense of purpose.
We’re working hard to develop policies which we will unveil to the Australian people ahead of the next election.
And we will have policies of consequence which offer Australians a clear choice at the polls.
Mr Dutton specifically acknowledged the need for Australia to tackle policy concerns in relation to energy security.
In March 1962, Prime Minister Menzies opened two new buildings at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor.
In his speech, Menzies said:
'There will come a time as the population of this country increases, as new resources are uncovered in remote parts of this country, when nuclear power will become as much the servant of peaceful enterprise as thermal power, or hydro-electric power.'
Menzies added:
'The day will come when we will have nuclear powered ships sailing into our harbours.'
The Albanese Labor Government’s ‘all-eggs-in-one basket’ approach to energy policy is proving disastrous for our nation.
The Coalition, on the other hand, sees renewables and nuclear as companions - not competitors.
Our policy is based on three goals:
1. We need cheaper power.
2. We need consistent power.
3. And we need to move towards cleaner power – because we all want a better environment for our children and theirs in turn.
Only by becoming a latest generation nuclear-powered nation can we meet our three energy goals.
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