PM: In the lead-up to the last election we indicated that we would be taking measures early in the term of this Government to secure fairness and flexibility in Australian workplaces. It's our belief that Mr Howard's industrial relations laws were the most extreme that this country had ever seen in the history of our Federation. And today in Cabinet, we've taken our first step towards the removal of those laws.
Cabinet today has agreed on key amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, and we will introduce these amendments as soon as Parliament returns. We believe that this is an important step forward because so many working families have been adversely affected by the existing range of laws.
Today Cabinet formally approved a range of specific measures which will, first of all, prevent the creation of new AWAs once these laws are passed.
Secondly, it abolishes the previous Government's so-called fairness test, and that will, of course, become applicable as soon as the legislation is through the Parliament.
And thirdly, we'll be introducing a genuine no-disadvantage test. And again, that will become applicable once the laws are through the Parliament.
The other thing that we have begun is the process by which we'd determine the new national employment standards. And what we have done today is to agree to develop an exposure draft for those 10 national employment standards, and these will be released when the Transition Bill enters the Parliament. That way, we'll have a full consultative arrangement with industry on it.
For us, this is a key part of our commitment to the Australian people, a key commitment which we are honouring today by this early decision of the Labor Cabinet, and I'll be asking Julia to comment further on that in a minute.
This Thursday, the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and I will be attending the first meeting of COAG in Melbourne, the first meeting of COAG occurring during the period of this Government. For us, this is step one in what will be a long-term process, a long-term process with one objective, and that's to end the buck-passing between Canberra and States. It's time, instead, we rolled up our sleeves to agree on a cooperative framework for dealing with the key challenges facing the Federation, facing the business community, and facing individual working families.
The program that we will be discussing on Thursday has been released to you in large measure. It deals, of course, with the health agenda, it deals with the education agenda, it deals with the infrastructure agenda, it deals with the business deregulation agenda and it deals with a number of other items as well, including housing, climate change and water. We've also decided today that we'll be including indigenous affairs in that agenda as well.
Our purpose this Thursday is to engage the Premiers and Chief Ministers in a strategic discussion about our common objectives in this area. We'll be approaching that meeting of COAG in order to provide a framework for the cooperative implementation of the program we put forward at the last election. We believe these are critical areas of great interest and relevance to Australian families.
We are looking particularly at achieving early results on the question of elective surgery waiting lists. And the Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, is advancing discussions with her State and Territory colleagues further between now and then with a view to any outcome which might be deliverable, come COAG on Thursday. If not deliverable on Thursday, then into the New Year.
Also, when it comes to these other areas that I listed before, our principle objective with the Premiers and Chief Ministers is to elaborate a timetable, elaborate the structure of working groups, and terms of reference for working groups, so that the work in each of these areas of Commonwealth-State cooperation can get underway.
I repeat what I've said so many times during the election campaign and my commitment to the Australian people, and that is to act early with our sleeves rolled up and a comprehensive agenda of national reform using COAG, not as a whipping boy, but COAG as a means by which to transform the nation.
If I could now turn to Julia to add on industrial relations, then I'll be happy to take your questions.
GILLARD: Thank you very much. As Kevin said, the Work Choices laws are extreme laws. The laws of the Liberal Party allowed working people to have the safety net torn away from them. Too many Australians lost penalty rates, overtime or redundancy, basic conditions. Many more Australians feared their loss.
Our Transition Bill will end the ability of anyone to make new Australian Workplace Agreements. That will be fairer to Australian families. But the Transition Bill will also kick off a new era of industrial relations with a streamlined and modern award system. The Transition Bill will task the Industrial Relations Commission with modernising Australia's awards over almost a two-year period, ending on the 31st December 2009. This is not only better for employees who rely on the safety net, it's better for employers who want to have a simple, modern safety net, something that they can check easily and know what their obligations are.
In addition, we will be lifting the red tape burden on employers. This Bill will end the obligation of employers to hand out the Howard Government's Workplace Relations fact sheet. This is, of course, the first piece of legislation to move forward with fairness. The substantive Bill will be brought to Parliament later next year after a consultative period that will involve industrial relations stakeholders, and most particularly, our Business Advisory Group.
PM: Good. Thank you, Julia. I'm happy to take your questions.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, could you clarify if you intend to use the Navy to monitor Japanese whaling (inaudible)?
PM: As I said the other day either in Dili or Bali, we haven't ruled out the use of Australian assets for the purposes of collecting photographic evidence in support of a possible future international legal case against the Japanese on whaling. I also indicated when I was overseas that we would be making our position clear on these matters during the course of this week. And we have some further internal deliberations to undergo in that matter. We'll be making a statement later in the week.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, when you say Australian assets, does that mean military?
PM: Australian assets means Australian assets. It means the property of the Australian Government.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well, I think I have a clear idea as to what the previous Australian Government did - which was nothing - when it came to the proper action to protect whales. I understand the full complexity and difficulty of this challenge. I'm fully aware of the depth and strength of our bilateral diplomatic relationship with Japan. I'm equally aware of the fact that no-one seriously believes that this is whaling for scientific purposes. Therefore, we need to embrace a proper, considered, reasonable, balanced course of action. And as I said, I will be making a full statement on that later in the week.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, you've listed indigenous affairs on the list now, how do you plan to progress those talks? Would you be encouraging the States and Territories, or the States in this case, I suppose, particularly Queensland, to be adopting Northern Territory-style intervention? Are there particular measures you would be putting to them and asking them to adopt?
PM: Well, when it comes to Indigenous affairs, you'll be familiar with the fact that on Saturday I met with the Indigenous leadership of the Northern Territory. We had a good discussion over several hours over the effects of the intervention and the reviews of that intervention. Many negatives, some positive. And I've reiterated to the Indigenous leadership in the Northern Territory that we'd be undertaking our review, which we said prior to the election we would in the second half of this year.
On the question of other States, and particularly recent developments in Queensland, I've been in discussion for some time with the Queensland Government about the, proposals which have been put forward by Noel Pearson, for a Family Responsibilities Commission in far North Queensland, involving, from recollection four communities on Cape York. Last time I was up there, well the time before in fact, maybe it was the time before that, I had some discussions with Mr Pearson about that and certainly with the Queenslanders we'll be seeing if we can get an agreed outcome on that, so that that new arrangement for the Cape can get underway.
More broadly with the Premiers and Chief Ministers, these are people of good will who want to do the right thing by Indigenous communities and let's face it, there are huge challenges out there. I'm looking forward to a very broad ranging conversation with the Premiers and Chief Ministers on what further actions can profitably and productively and cooperatively be undertaken. Dennis?
JOURNALIST: Will the Murray-Darling be included in these discussions (inaudible)?
PM: What we're proposing to do Dennis, and I discussed this at length with the acting Premier of South Australia and the Premier of Victoria, prior to travelling to Bali and that is that we will transact outstanding disagreements, particularly involving the Government of Victoria on the Murray Darling arrangement bilaterally. That is, I'll be dealing separately with the Government of Victoria and as a appropriate with the Government's of New South Wales and South Australia to resolve outstanding concerns there. Those concerns of the Government of Victoria have been well documents. They're on the public record but I believe these are best and most productively advanced by separate one on one discussions by those relevant Premiers and those Premiers are in agreement with that approach.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)?
PM: What I'll be proposing to the Premiers and Chief Ministers is to meet COAG regularly this year. I intend, as I said, not to use COAG as a whipping boy. I have no interest in allowing COAG to become sort of a dead horse. Going to mix all our analogies here soon. But I want it to be a work horse not a dead horse. I don't want to whip it. I just want to stroke it gently. (inaudible)
GILLARD: As it canters towards the finishing line.
PM: Just lately the poetry's lacking. But my intention is to meet it regularly and actually turn it into a real work horse of the Federation. Let's face it, all those list of things I just went through before, they are massively complex. As a former practitioner at a bureaucrat level myself in this area, albeit a decade or so ago, I actually know how much these things get bogged in the weeds if they're just left with officials all the time. Therefore, my intention'll be to meet COAG regularly, possibly quarterly during the course of 2008, so that we are regularly bringing up performance updates on how each of these working groups is going. And progress will be easier in some rather than others but in answer to your question, that's what I've got in mind.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) I think you were meant to have AWAs phased out by 2012, 31st of December. Isn't that now blowing out in that people can still sign AWAs perhaps in January and February next year?
GILLARD: Our policy on this was always very clear. It was in our policy implementation plan in August and that was that there would be no retrospective element at all to what we did in workplace relations. We said in August we would have a transition bill and from the date of the implementation of that transition bill you would no longer be able to make new Australian workplace agreements but to give employers and employees certainty AWAs that were on foot at that time would continue for the balance of their term, bearing in mind they can last for up to five years. I've been advised by the Workplace Authority and you may have seen the Head of the Workplace Authority made some statements when the most recent statistics on the number of agreements being processed were released that there's no evidence in the current statistics of a spike in the number of Australian Workplace Agreements. Now to change the law we have to have Parliament sit. We have to have a bill go through the Parliament. We are going to make sure, through today's Cabinet decision that we are doing that as quickly as possible. This bill will be brought to the Parliament as soon as the Parliament resumes in February.
JOURNALIST: Of those current backlog of AWAs which were waiting approval with the Fairness test, the hundred thousand or so. What happens to those which are still unresolved?
GILLARD: They are dealt with under current law. The operative date for the making of those agreements is the date that they were made, not the date that ultimately they get assessed because they're in a long queue. That obviously is not the fault of the people who made the agreement.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)?
GILLARD: AWAs made under current law inclusive of the Howard Government's changes to WorkChoices in 2007, the so called ‘Fairness Test' will be assessed under that law, not under the new law.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)?
GILLARD: You can't make new law until you have the Parliament sit and have the Parliament consider it. Up until new law is made, Work Choices, the Howard Government's law continues to be the law. Agreements made under Work Choices can last for up to five years. That is correct. But the only way of changing the law is to have this Parliament sit and change it. We are obviously going about that task as quickly as possible. We will present our bill which is to transition to Forward with Fairness, our workplace relations regime as soon as this Parliament sits in the New Year.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)?
And also just while I've got the floor, if I could ask the Prime Minister, as a former practitioner of COAG from the States' perspective, could you tell us whether you think it's frustrating your agenda that not being considered at COAG on Thursday and it's all being determined by the Commonwealth?
GILLARD: The Australian Fair Pay Commission will continue to deal with minimum wages for the two-year transitional period. When our workplace relations system is in full operation from 1st January 2010, then the setting of minimum wages will be undertaken by Fair Work Australia, our new industrial umpire.
PM: And in answer to the other question from Laura, we want to advance this pretty ambitious national agenda cooperatively and, therefore, everyone's got to get a fair shake of the sauce bottle. That means the States and Territories as well. That's why this agenda has been discussed by me on the phone with the Premiers, and I did so before going to Bali and before putting out any statement. And that's why, furthermore, there is an opportunity on that agenda, in terms of other national form initiatives, for Premiers and Chief Ministers to bring forward other matters as well, and that may occur between now and Thursday. And it's within that group that we've included, obviously, indigenous affairs. Michelle, Michelle first.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: It is a very difficult operating environment. I think both the Defence Minister and myself have a similar view about how challenging this is going to be in the period ahead. What the Defence Minister was doing in Edinburgh was underlining the fact that we're there for the long haul, and we made that very plain to our American ally and to our NATO partners. And the Defence Minister was also underlining a point which is necessary to make publicly, and that's we would encourage our NATO partners to do more when it comes to Afghanistan. This is quite critical, particularly given the further resurgence of the opium crop, the illicit economy, the amount of narco-finance which is rolling out of that part of the world. Unless we stabilise Afghanistan we've got problems beyond those that we experience at the moment.
JOURNALIST: After Bali, do you have a sense about where the United States is heading and what we can expect to see from them over the next year or so on climate change?
PM: Well, I would commend the flexibility we saw from the Government of the United States in allowing this consensus draft to go forward at Bali. There was a real danger during that last day of negotiations that it would all fall in a heap, and again, I commend the role of the Australian negotiating team, led by Senator Wong, in pulling that out of the fire, also, with the cooperation of other States, of course. Also, some sign of flexibility from some developing countries, viz-a-viz measurable, verifiable, reportable actions. Now, this is not perfect in either department but it does represent a step forward.
Informally, I had discussions with the American delegation myself in Bali and I do not know, is the honest answer, what the US negotiating position will be during the course of this year. But what I know for a fact is this: this will be a hard, difficult negotiation. We seem to be having quarterly meetings a lot but there will be quarterly meetings, I'm advised by Senator Wong this morning, during the course of this year. I think the next one's in Bonn in March and this is going to be tough and again, tough, in order to take the road map into implementation-land.
JOURNALIST: Can I ask the Treasurer, you've expressed concerns about continuing inflation over the next 18 months or so, and the effect on interest rates. Will you be taking the opportunity at COAG to address the inflationary pressures that the States have created?
SWAN: Well, in many ways, Dennis, the reforms that we require to put downward pressure on inflation and downward pressure on interest rates do go to the COAG agenda, and I spoke about that at some length on Friday. So, the COAG agenda is central to building the productive capacity of the economy. I mean, as you know, the inflationary pressure has been building for a long period of time, it will take some time to deal with, but we must begin immediately. And I think the most important thing we can do is have a new era of fiscal discipline, and the Commonwealth ought to start with itself. I made that very clear on Friday. We do need additional savings but also we do need to work with the States to expand the productive capacity of the economy. We need to work with them in a range of areas to progress the national reform agenda, and we will commence that process on Friday.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)?
SWAN: Well, I'm not going to buy into the outcome of the COAG process. The COAG process is very important and I'll leave that to the Prime Minister to deal with in the first instance.
PM: Just to conclude on that, because Cabinet is still going and we should actually be there, it would be a good idea, and I'd just like to conclude and I'm very concerned about the little girl out here in the sun without a hat. COAG is about reform nationally which benefits working families through access to better services and more efficient delivery of services. It's critical for the business community, through the business deregulation agenda, but it is absolutely critical in terms of the pressures we face nationally on the national economy and inflation, by addressing critically infrastructure bottlenecks and skills shortages. That's why this agenda is so important, as well as lifting the participation rate. These are critical agendas when it comes to doing what government can nationally to maximise downward pressure on inflation to ensure that we're doing the best thing by way of macro-economic management, we'd better get back to Cabinet. Thank you very much.
ends