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Originally Posted by almostaugust
Im more worried about Beazley myself. I wish he'd commit to a rollback of this IR legislation that Honest John is trying to bring about.
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They won't roll it back unless they're completely clueless. Unitary IR legislation's long overdue. Labor knows it, Democrats know it, Libs know it. Gough thought so in '72. Crean thought so when he was in the ACTU. Murray (Democrats) has always been a supporter of the idea. They just fight about the content, not the concept. Behind closed doors Labor will be rubbing their hands with glee - every federal govt since federation has wanted its hands on a unitary IR system, and after Howard pushes the reforms through, Labor will eventually get their chance. It's just a matter of time. Besides, Howard's just continuing what Hawke & Keating began in '93 (IR Reform Act). Differece is that under Hawke/Keating, real wages rose a pathetic 1.2% in 13 years. During the Howard years real wages have risen 14% since '96. But never let the facts get in the way of a sensational headline. Fact is Australian working conditions have never been better. There are some negative aspects to the proposals (eg all workers should have access to unfair dismissal claims). But I give the guy credit - at least he's showing the leadership and guts needed to push through his vision regardless whether or not you agree with the proposals.