Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I am asked by the member for Banks about the Qantas dispute, and to the member for Banks I would say that in the early hours of Monday morning Fair Work Australia, the industrial umpire which we empowered under the Fair Work Act, made the appropriate order to end the damaging disputation in Qantas, particularly the grounding of its fleet, caused by the decision of Qantas on Saturday. It was an extreme decision to lock out their workers and to ground their fleet, stranding tens of thousands of Australians in places away from home and around the world without sufficient notice to make alternative arrangements.

Fair Work Australia did what it should do under the Fair Work Act to end that disputation. We are a nation which, in the past, has seen lockouts of employees persist for months but Fair Work Australia, seized of the matter during Saturday as a result of the government's application to Fair Work Australia, immediately commenced to work and planes were back in the sky on Monday afternoon as a result of the government's application and the decision of Fair Work Australia.

I am aware that during the last few days there has been criticism of the Fair Work Act and commentary about its provisions. To those who raise that criticism I say that if people want to have a debate on workplace relations in this parliament, bring it on. Bring it on, because we do know that the opposition wants to change the Fair Work Act and go back to Work Choices. If that is the debate of the day then bring it on. Let me make it clear where we will stand in that debate and what principles will guide us, because you have seen it on display during the Qantas dispute.

We will always act in the interests of the Australian public, as we acted in the interests of the travelling public during the Qantas dispute. We will always act in the interests of the national economy because there is nothing more important to this country than the prosperity and opportunity that a strong national economy can provide. We will always act with balance and fairness to the rights of working people, to make sure that they can be appropriately represented at work. That is why we have put the safety net back after the Liberal Party took it away, that is why we have an industrial umpire with powers to act and that is why we have a fair bargaining system.

I do note that there are others in this debate who are bringing a different set of values, most particularly, the Leader of the Opposition, who has not uttered one word of criticism of Qantas for taking this industrial action—not one word.

Mr Simpkins interjecting—

See this speech in context