Ministerial Statement

WORKCHOICES

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Finance, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:03): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: I advise the house that the Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia has today handed down the findings of its Inquiry into the Impact of the WorkChoices and Independent Contractors Legislation on South Australian Workplaces, Employees and Employers. I established this inquiry in March this year because I considered it vital that a comprehensive and genuinely independent review be conducted into the practical impact of WorkChoices.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: The commission's reports runs to some 234 pages, and the government is yet to fully analyse and absorb all the report and its many recommendations. However, with the report being handed town today, it is timely to advise the house of some of the key findings. The commission found that the Howard government's WorkChoices has already hurt South Australians—and it will get worse. The report states:

...at least 350,000 of those South Australian employees covered by WorkChoices have been deprived entirely of an unfair dismissal remedy. This affects not just the minority of employees who have been unfairly dismissed without remedy, but many of those in continuing employment who experience a heightened sense of insecurity and disempowerment—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Davenport!

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: —compounded by a loss of other protections to employment conditions and attitudinal change among some employers.

As members would be aware, one of the claims made by the Howard government about WorkChoices is that it delivers a simplified national system of industrial relations. The commission concluded that WorkChoices:

....is a long way from achieving national coverage, that it is not a simplified system of workplace relations, and that it is unduly complex.

The commission went on to say that one of the reasons for WorkChoices being unduly complex is:

...the policy decision of the federal government to adopt an interventionist approach involving increased regulation of most parts of an already complex industrial relations system...

After hearing evidence about the reality of WorkChoices, the commission found that ready access to advice and assistance to those now in the federal system—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT: —they do not like it sir; they know it is crook as well—and not available from the relevant federal government agencies. In a critical finding the Industrial Relations Commission (the independent umpire) concluded:

WorkChoices is unfair and lacks balance.

The commission also found that WorkChoices:

...has failed to deliver flexibility or fairness for employees as a whole.

Members will recall that a cornerstone of the Howard government's argument for WorkChoices was that it helped employees bargain a better deal. However, the commission found:

...there is compelling evidence that the changes effected by WorkChoices to the agreement-making process have had significant adverse effects on many employees...

and that under WorkChoices:

The agreement-making process has become complex, frustrating and non-productive.

On 5 September this year, the federal minister—he won't be for much longer—Joe Hockey said:

Employees have more protections in place than ever before ensuring that penalty rates, overtime and other protected conditions cannot just be taken away without fair compensation.

The inquiry found that the Howard government's fairness test will not prevent the loss of conditions without compensation. The inquiry also found:

...there is a pervasive sense of job insecurity as a result of WorkChoices.

The commission's report also makes it very clear that WorkChoices hurts families and those who already face disadvantage: women, youth and regional South Australians, for example. The commission said:

WorkChoices has increased the gender pay gap...[and] the ability to manage the work/life balance has been detrimentally affected...

Members would be aware that the Howard government has claimed that WorkChoices delivers increased productivity and more jobs. On this critical issue, and after analysing the facts, the commission said:

...there is no evidence or material before this inquiry that supports the assertion that WorkChoices has resulted in benefits to workplaces, employees or employers in terms of increased productivity. To the extent to which WorkChoices has enhanced employer flexibility, this has come at the expense of many employees, and on the evidence and material before us there is no resultant increase in employment opportunities.

This is a watershed report based on hard facts and hard evidence. This is a report from the independent umpire, the Industrial Relations Commission. I thank the South Australian Industrial Relations Commission and all the participating stakeholders for their work. The government will give due consideration to the commission's recommendations before announcing our response.