Today was Mr Rudd's final opportunity to stand up to the union bosses and fix the economically dangerous Forward with Fairness policy.
Instead Mr Rudd has again confirmed the domination of the union movement over the Labor Party.
Labor's industrial relations policy is not a plan to keep the economy strong. It is a deal cobbled together to buy the further financial support of the union bosses until election day.
Labor's policy will mean more power to the union bosses to push industry wide wage claims, leading to increased inflation and upward pressure on interest rates.
It will overturn the rights that small business people currently have to run their businesses free of interference from the trade union movement.
Today's policy will bring back the dreaded unfair dismissal laws and that will cause higher unemployment.
The announcement does nothing to fix the major flaws with Labor's industrial relations policy which includes:
* Compulsory union bargaining which will allow unions to force their way into nearly every agreement negotiation, even where they are not wanted;
* The re-introduction of compulsory arbitration;
* Unions will be able to include any matter in an agreement including union friendly clauses; and
* Abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the laws protecting this industry.
The Leader of the Opposition will go through a charade today by suggesting that Labor has really stood up to the unions. No doubt some union bosses will feign outrage.
But the fact remains that unions have 70 per cent control of the Labor frontbench and the big union bosses including Greg Combet, Bill Shorten, Richard Marles, Mark Butler and Don Farrell are all coming into the Parliament to increase that control.
The union bosses know they will get what they want from a Rudd Government, total control.
What is now clear is that Labor's industrial relations policy will put at risk the strength of the Australian economy.