This is by far the most sick and twisted piece of legislation this country has ever seen.

The minister for finance is pushing for MORE sweeping IR reforms to be taken to the next election and guess what...even if they are, we (present company excluded) are all so dumb that we're just gonna vote 'em right back in again - possibly with another overwhelming majority.

Wake up Australia!

Can't anyone see that Howard has done this with a sadistic and sinister advantage in mind. Sure it might be good for the economy but the added bonus, as far as Howard is concerned, is that he can hit the working class were it hurts the most. For those of us who obviously don't know this yet, Howard has always resented the working class and has worked his entire political life for this kind of legislation so that the over-demanding working-class can be "put back in their place".

...Again, present company excluded.

I am very frustrated with IR changes, It is plan to see these changes will overtime lower take home pay for most Australians.

In a time of record household debt there could not be a worse time
for these damaging changes to occur. I plan on starting my own business soon so I don't have an agenda, but these laws will hurt our kids and grand kids (fact)

This work choices bill is about Big Business and there influence within the coalition. Yes it should be a bit easier for a small business to sack a bad employee (10 or less employee's)100 employees is a large business.

Crime will rise and a new class of working poor will emerge within 10-15 years. Im serious, mark my words. I have closely followed
this issue and listened to both sides and I can not believe this government would put our good people in this position.
How dare they not listen to the people and lie to us as well.

We have a new welfare for work bill that forces disabled to work
and at the same time overseas workers coming in by the tens of thousands to be exploited and drive down wages.

Understand this if workers earn less they pay less tax, but the companies new found weath is not taxed as high especially big business so the government gets less taxes. We also will get less superanuation. Big businesses are to smart to implement there new found power staight away. To a bright note I do think this bill is illegal as it abuses the corporations power.

There are some very intellegent people discussing this topic here I
hope you speak up loudly.

Have a good day

I fully agree with someone earlier saying that the IR Reforms have had the worst promotion ever seen in Australia. For me it ranks with Keating’s recession we had to have. Look what happened to him.

As long as we want to be part of this globalised community with the benefits of shared intelligence and technology,we have to face the reality of global competition and all it's rewards,as well as global rationalism with it's harsh realities.

Face it ,we are living off the sweat of third world poverty that provides us with cheap products beyond our wildest dreams,yet refuse to admit that ultimately we have to pay the price of competing and paying our own way.

We can only sell off a finite portion of our country in terms of resources before we have to bite the bullet and invest more in human resources which will provide Australia with a more secure future.

The reality is that wages will fall,the rich will profit even more from the share market,and Govts will keep their snouts in the trough.

There is a better way,we simply make workers shareholders in the companies for which they work.Aye,there's the rub,since workers have no capital and only a left wing education to console them in poverty .

Arjay

I'm not sure what to make of your claim that workers have only a left wing education and no capital. So I will just ignore that as another of your less inspired moments.

However you have made a good point with your suggestion of making workers shareholders.

This is motivational. It also leads to greater productivity when workers have a stake in their work.

It is arrant nonsense to expect Australian workers to earn the same as their third world counterparts, it is turning the clock back 200 years.

Another way to counter this is to raise the standard for third world workers; I believe that this will happen eventually - but don't expect it in my lifetime.

Global corporations cannot exploit these workers indefinitely.

Both China and India are not only developing their technologies but they are educating their workers at a massive rate. This holds a great deal of competition for the West - such as cheaper engineers. This also means that not only will low-skilled workers in the West be affected but also the higher skilled workers will feel the pinch.

Interesting times.

Scout ,it is indeed the rub,since our education system does not deal with investments or the necessity of having the discipline to achieve long term goals.Our education system is based on a socialist philosophy whereby the lowest common denominator determines the level of wealth and how it will be distributed.

We are the society of instantaneous self gratification who practise punishing the achievers in the name of social equality.Just look at our progressive tax system that creates enormous bureaucracies to pay millions not to work.

Globalisation has a lot of negatives.When our small businesses are shut down by cheap imports,this means that large corporations just take up the slack and the small entrenpreneur with little capital has no way of breaking into the market.Where will be our freedom of spirit be when ordinary folk cannot achieve wealth?

I think we are making China powerful too quickly,since their political system is still totalitarian in nature,with no mechanism to restrain it's excesses.