Mr SULLIVAN (2:19 PM) —My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Will the minister outline for the House how the government is protecting key minimum entitlements for Australian workers?

Ms GILLARD (Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion) —I thank the member for Longman for his question. I know that he is someone deeply committed to fairness and balance in Australian workplaces. Today, as the Prime Minister has said, the government has announced its National Employment Standards—10 standards for all Australians. Whether someone is working part-time or full-time, they will have the benefit of these 10 National Employment Standards.

I particularly want to outline the process that has brought these 10 National Employment Standards to the public. When we first met as the 42nd parliament and the government introduced its transition act to end the making of Australian workplace agreements, the government also publicly announced an exposure draft of its 10 National Employment Standards. That consultative process of an exposure draft was done so that people could have their say about this basic cornerstone of the industrial relations system. One hundred and twenty-nine submissions were received and, as a result of the submissions received, these National Employment Standards have been improved.

This stands in stark contrast to the way in which the Liberal Party conducted itself over Work Choices and the so-called Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard. Then, apart from a policy wrapped in industrial relations extremism, the Liberal Party did not seek the mandate of the Australian people and it developed its legislation in secret, without consultation, meaning it was complex and technically flawed. This government have taken a different approach. Firstly, we told the Australian people what we stood for in workplace relations; we spelt out in our policies what we were going to introduce, including these 10 National Employment Standards. Secondly, we have made sure that these have been developed in a consultative way, through an exposure draft process which we have taken seriously and responded to.

These 10 National Employment Standards are one part of Labor’s new safety net. This is a safety net for all Australian workers. Labor will also be introducing, through our award modernisation process being conducted by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, modern, simple awards. The National Employment Standards and the modern, simple awards, which will be for employees who earn $100,000 or less, will come into existence on 1 January 2010.

I find it remarkable that those opposite, who did not believe in guaranteeing basic standards for Australian workers, are now asking the kinds of questions that they are. What we can certainly guarantee is that, unlike Work Choices, we will not have statutory individual employment agreements that allow basic conditions to be ripped away. Let us remind ourselves that all this feigned interest now in the conditions of working people—

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms GILLARD —They chant out in support of Work Choices. We know that they supported Work Choices. They supported a scheme with statutory individual employment agreements that allowed protected award conditions to be ripped away from Australian workers. We know, for example, shift work loadings were excluded in 70 per cent of agreements and penalty rates were excluded in 63 per cent of agreements. That is what they believed in: the rip-off of basic conditions of Australian working families. They believed in it then, they believe in it now and, if they ever have the opportunity, Work Choices would be back. We know this because, when we gave them the opportunity to vote in this House to verify that individual statutory employment agreements would not be reintroduced under a future Liberal government, they refused to vote for that proposition. They believe in Work Choices, they believe in rip-offs and they believe in no-one having any standards, and no cant or hypocrisy from the other side can ever cover that up.