Senator CAMPBELL (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Sport, Territories and Local Government)(12.14 p.m.) —I believe in a number of regards this act coming into law will have the effect of increasing employment, increasing choices and increasing employment opportunities for many people. I do not say that just off the top of my head. There are a number of people, such as the Retail Council of Australia, who estimate that something like 200,000 jobs for juniors would be at risk in their industry if junior wage rates, for example, were replaced. There are a number of reports, including the Yellow Pages surveys and various other surveys by ACCI, in relation to the impact of the unfair dismissal laws if they are not changed. That is a part of this act.

So there are a number of people out there who think that employment will improve as a result of this act. There are others who are more sceptical about it, such as the Governor of the Reserve Bank, who believes that it will be good for the economy. It will ensure that productivity in Australia is able to improve so that the economy can grow faster without risking other speed limits in the economic area.

But, of course, Mr Macfarlane, by way of example, said that he was unsure of the short- to medium-term impacts on employment. It is an object of this bill. We are not in here for 25 hours debating this bill because it amuses us. We think this will make a contribution to improving people's opportunities to gain access to the sort of employment they want.