Mr STEPHEN SMITH (2:24 PM) —My question is also to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Isn’t it the case that, under the government’s industrial relations legislation, if a majority of employees want a collective agreement and the employer does not, there is no circuit breaker other than the unreviewable unilateral decision of the employer? What choice do employees have when the boss simply says no?

Ms Macklin —No choice.

The SPEAKER —Order! The minister has been asked a question and he will now be heard.

Mr ANDREWS (Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service) —The data I referred to earlier shows that there is a clear choice for employers and employees. Seventy per cent of agreements which have been entered into—

Mr Stephen Smith interjecting—

The SPEAKER —Order! The member for Perth has asked his question.

Mr ANDREWS —under Work Choices since 27 March are collective agreements and 30 per cent are individual agreements.

Mr Stephen Smith interjecting—

The SPEAKER —The member for Perth is warned.

Mr ANDREWS —What does the labour movement and the ALP propose to do? What they propose is that—and remember they are talking about effective compulsory unionism now—unions can come along to a workplace under their so-called good faith bargaining, demand that the books, the accounts and the financial affairs of any business in Australia be totally opened up and, if there is a dispute about that, the union can go to the Industrial Relations Commission in this country and say that this is an intractable dispute and therefore take out of the agreement making between the employer and employees their responsibility to do that and have the one-size-fits-all pattern bargain approach that we had in the past. The reality is that this will take Australia back to the 1970s and 1980s. This would be a very serious mark against the Australian economy. It would be economic vandalism.