Agreed Glenwriter

Beazley has yet to offer a real alternative to AWA's - just saying they will be abolished is just a big negative. What is he offering?

Choice between individual AWA's or collective?
Standards for work conditions - such as safety, training, holidays, overtime?
Sustainable future for Australia?
Rebuilding infrastructure that Libs have allowed to degrade?
Some backbone when dealing with other countries such as USA, Indonesia?

When Beazley actually provides

A) An effective opposition - a government is only as good as its opposition.

and

B) Some substantial policies,

then maybe Labor will be ready to take back the reins, until then we have the government we deserve.

Lie 1 “AWAs simply have little or no impact on productivity. You don’t need facts and figures about productivity to back this up”

Delusion 2 “it makes sense because it fits in with the Labor’s perspective on workplace relations… most effectively served through an emphasis on collective bargaining”

Delusion 3 “Labor will need to provide a decent alternative to the federal government's reforms, an alternative which delivers both productivity and which fits in with Labor’s perspective on workplace relations.”

At last a fact “Assuming that Labor provides this alternative, the ultimate decision about the fate of AWAs and WorkChoices won’t be made by the John Howard, or Kim Beazley, but by the Australian voters.”

Lie 1 - something is impacting employment and productivity, hence the remarkable turnaround in employment statistics since AWA’s and other tools used to deregulate the labour market have reduced unemployment to under 5%.
That compared to the days when Keating was declaring “the recession we had to have”.
I remember those days and the gross incompetence and subservience which the elected labor government played as they danced for their union masters. Note ignoring facts and figures is a cop-out.

Delusion 2 Suggesting collective bargaining is “beneficial” ignores the reality that every employee is responsible for their own level of productivity. Why should the productive be paid, under a collective agreement, equal to the unproductive?

Delusion 3 Labor is incapable of providing a decent idea, their best reforms only deform human relationships as they force people into a straight jacket of compliance and conformity by denying us the right to make our own agreements.

At last a fact – deferment to the voter. Yep I can agree with that. I can also identify that the past 10 years of coalition government have made the best of our opportunities rather than trying to pander to the demands of vested interest groups like the big-unions of the public service and publicly run institutions and the union bullies of the BLF who blackmail their way through every publicly funded construction project (MCG light towers, WA commuter rail etc)

Yeah right Col - far right.

Johny Howard and co are pandering to the far right.

Big business and the US rule Howard, not to mention the Indonesians.

I don't know where you live but there is a lot of hidden unemployment around. People are put on casual and if the work drops of for a few weeks they are expected to live on SFA.

It is easy to rig the unemployment figures if people who work for 1 hour are deemed to be employed.

When a worker can be fined $28000 for going on strike, bearing in mind that the right to withhold ones labour is an international human right, the IR laws are downright evil.

I would like to know why little johnny appears to hate the average Aussie so much.

Aka – “the right to withhold ones labour is an international human right”

the thugs who have taken strike action to the detriment of the construction of the rail line in WA have a choice.

Do the job

or

Resign from the job.

They do not have the right to stop others from working and they do not have the right to blackmail the project managers / owners into paying their extortion demands. The exact same thing happens (mostly on government funded building projects, where the government is the lackey of trades hall) all the time, here in Victoria.

I have been faced with matters of conscience or dilemmas when working for some “employers” and “clients” in the past, I have expressed my view by resigning or withdrawing from the contract.

Oh, I am an accountant by profession, I chose to migrate to Melbourne, the only alternative from a career perspective, was Sydney, anywhere else would have been professional stupidity.

As for your view to my political leaning, you are correct, I am right of centre, someof us find it worthy to balance the banal stupidity of the “left”.

As for “rigging” employment figures, just a leftie excuse and sour grapes which evolves from a profound misunderstanding of the real world.

Check GDP and Average incomes, they have grown significantly and yet your theory would suggest they have gone backwards but like Christian Seibert you will likely be claiming “You don’t need facts and figures about productivity to back this up”

I suggest your capacity for ideas is as barren as the labor party, which leaves you at a natural disadvantage, not that I care, I will always negotiate for my self and to my own benefit (too important to leave to government or unions).

Sounds like I hit a raw nerve there Col.

The workers in WA had returned to work and their employer did not want to - nor did they- take the action of evoking the fines. Johnny Howards cowards did.

In your attempt to sound educated, you did not address the issue of people being on casual wages and being hung on a hook for weeks on end when there is no work. For the people I know, in the major industry im this area, they earn a basic wage (casual) and therefore no dole which is fair enough. However, if work is unavailable for weeks, or if only 1 or 2 days work is available, they cannot get income support to feed themselves, pay rent etc. They are some of the precariously employed.

As an educated person you would be able to know as I do that 1 hours work is all that it takes for this government to count you as employed.

Also as one of the faithful, can you please answer my question as to why Johnny Howard appears to hate the average Aussie so much?

Aka – I have no nerves, that does not mean I will turn a blind eye to stupidity.

“Also as one of the faithful, can you please answer my question as to why Johnny Howard appears to hate the average Aussie so much?”

Answer – as someone who relies on “average aussie” voters for all his power and authority, I would speculate he does not. That said, no one can be held accountable for your sense of victimhood.

As for your expedient excuse regarding those non-“construction workers” in WA, they are bludgers who wanted to be paid for doing nothing and are behaving as toe-rags for their union bosses, they deserve to be fined for their breach of contract.