Mr PYNE(8.39 p.m.) —I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my remarks on the Australian Labor Party's first amendment to the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1966. This amendment deals with the objects of the act.

If we view this legislation against the background of thought that existed in the early part of this century, it may seem a radical departure from those ideas—but it is not. The concept of needs and ability to pay are considered as they were by Mr Justice Higgins in the Harvester decision in 1907. The needs requirement will be met by the awards; and the ability to pay will be determined by performance and productivity, to be covered in workplace agreements.

This legislation will change forever the role of the union movement. Alan Wood, whom I will quote later this evening, concluded that unions have spent years ignoring their members' interests and, forced to compete in a fair contest, are going to lose. There will undoubtedly be a place in Australian society for the trade union movement. That place, however, will no longer be in the middle, attempting to thwart the wishes of employer and employee.

Organised labour will need to reinvent itself and begin to place its own interests behind those it claims to represent. It will need to become as competitive as, and in a similar manner to, our successful businesses. It will need to offer a decent product at a decent price. It may take time for attitudes and old habits to change, but I am sure that the trade union movement has something to offer the Australian people. Its members will be the final arbiters on that.

In this bill the coalition is keeping faith with its commitment to the blue-collar workers who believe that the coalition parties would best represent their interests and ensure no dilution of their wages and conditions. The times do not allow Australia to live in a vacuum. Either we push forward now, looking confidently to the future, or at we will surely be dragged into the future, kicking and screaming. How quickly we respond to changed circumstance is a measure of the maturity of our country as a nation. Very few conditions have changed as greatly as the needs in the workplace. Our response is long overdue, but it is better late than never.

I would like to congratulate my friend the Minister for Industrial Relations (Mr Reith) on this bill. If he does nothing else in his term as a minister—and that, I think, is highly unlikely—he will be remembered for this piece of legislation. Further, the legislation itself will be remembered as a great achievement for both the government and the minister. The minister has laid all his cards on the table, as predicted in the coalition's election promise. There are no hidden agendas, no aces up his sleeve. This is a win-win situation for employees and employers. I commend this bill to the House, and do not support the amendment moved by the member for Canberra (Mr McMullan).