As with most laws, unfair dismissal has it good stories and bad, I don't belive the rules need to be completely dropped. Ajay I think you only have vemon as you are most like one of the snakes this law is in place to protect workers from. Bozzie you may value your work force but other don't. The Australian company that I worked from who also valued their employees was taken over by a multi national company with over 100,000 staff which treat them like cattle. removing this law may well increase employment but a what cost. Just like lowering the min wage would increase employment would it realy solve problems. We already have a problem with the so called working poor.

Tim, my main concern is that successive governments and their bureaucracies actually believe that they can help, by "implementing programmes". The irony is of course that these "initiatives" are paid for by businesses, who then have to wear the additional costs in implementing them. You quote one of the Senate recommendations:

"That the Federal Government introduce a national jobs strategy to promote permanent full-time employment opportunities and better targeted employment programs"

Mate, this is hot air. Big empty words. Promote opportunities? To whom? All the employers I know, including myself, would hire the entire Australian population if we could turn them into revenue and profit. Make-work programmes only exist in the public sector, with one exception - taxation. Allowing companies to plough more of their earnings back into the business is the single most effective way of increasing their ability to employ people.

Our money is spent on senate recommendations, which lead to committees, which lead to recommendations, which lead to legislation, which lead to more regulations which decrease our ability to make profits... and incidentally, decrease our ability to pay tax, it's a vicious circle. And don't get me started on that most iniquitous of taxes, Payroll Tax.

"That the Federal Government poverty proof the minimum wage by linking it to adequate standards of living (Recommendation 6)"

Any attempt to implement a safety-net will have adverse effects, mostly in the reduction of job availability. You simply can't legislate away the underemployed - they are there for a reason, which is that employers simply can't afford to have them any other way. Take this away, and hard-core unemployment will increase.

"That the Federal Government, in collaboration with State Governments encourage the expansion of labour-intensive private sector services in regional areas by improving education and training and other public infrastructure and/or providing tax concessions or other subsidies to encourage employers to relocate in regional areas (Recommendation 73)."

If you think this through, you will find that it is the most expensive option of them all - creating hew infrastructure simply to relocate jobs, is inappropriate in most situations. Strangely though, it works better for the public sector in terms of practicality, but I defy anyone to prove that it saves money for private sector employers in the long term.

I'd really love to be shown that I'm wrong, though. It's tough out there.

Kenny the working poor have been created by the lowering of tarrifs to create the so called "level playing field"I don't hire professionals.I'm at the bottom of the food chain.The diminishing manufacturing industry. Desperate people do desperate things and when survival comes into play morality goes out the window.We have now in NSW a situation where small business is prey for both Govt. and worker.Big business can please themselves since they have power over Govt.
Any worker will be looked favourably upon in unfair dismissal case even if neglience is proven by the employer.On average it is a $20,000 payout.Then we in NSW have the debacle of workers comp. whereby the employer pays not only the premium but in the event of a claim has to pay the full amount of the claim back to the insurer!

Before you start lecturing small business on the rights of the worker,try running one for 12mnths in NSW.These present Labor morons have got this state fucked.

Tim, one more quick comment on the futility of Government interference. I believe I read before the last election that small business is Australia's single largest employer group - you might like to correct me if I'm wrong on that, because I haven't been able to verify it. The previous Minister for [Tourism and] Small Business wouldn't have recognized one if it walked up to him and whacked him over the head with a piece of two-by-four, shouting "I am a small business". I'm not even sure there is such a post any longer, possibly because it is so hard to find any evidence that we ever did have one.

Typically, the last Minister went from university (Pres of Lib. club, IIRC) into a "major law firm", then into politics with Mr Fahey. I say typically, because actual experience of business at ANY level of politics is like hens' teeth. Probably as a result of this, they spend as little time as possible on the task - Joe Hockey was famous for being much happier having cocktails at the opening of a new luxury resort than talking to the owners of the local sandwich shop. No wonder he dropped it as soon as was politically expedient.

Nothing coming from government except a simpler and fairer tax system, and a great deal less interference (and I include "unfair dismissal" laws in that category) is of any use to small business.