Mr HATTON - 1999-02-17
Last night in the federal Senate, the Australian Labor Party senators and Australian Democrat senators voted to defeat government legislation which proposed to change some of the statutory provisions in respect to unfair dismissal laws. Can the minister advise what implications this may have for small businesses in the Northern Territory and what he is proposing to do to support the call by the federal Minister for Small Businesses to provide specific examples of information to both the Democrat and Labor Party senators?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, as the member for Nightcliff pointed out, last night the Australian Labor Party and the Democrats voted to overturn legislation which has imposed enormous administrative costs on small business. It has had a direct effect on small businesses’ willingness to employ people, even to the extent that people have avoided expanding their businesses rather than employing staff. If the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party wants to support what their colleagues and their masters did in Canberra, they cannot stand up and say they support business in the Northern Territory. Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made her opening address in reply to the Chief Minister’s statement, and I quote from Hansard:
There is nothing more Labor than providing someone with the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. We are still a society that defines ourselves by whether or not we have a job. The most basic method we can judge our success as a society is the availability of jobs for people who want them. I make no apologies for going after this core Labor value. The successful economic development of the Northern Territory community will only occur into the 21st century if there is a concerted partnership between government, industry, business both small and medium in our community. I will lead a Labor opposition focused on creating and sustaining opportunities for growth and economic prosperity into the next century.
If the Leader of the Opposition wants to add substance to her statement, all she has to do is stand up and say she will write and she will fax her Labor colleagues, her masters in Canberra, and demand that they give passage to the regulations that Senator Reith had employed. Those regulations ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for Wanguri does have a tendency to interrupt and interfere. He jumps into the breach without even understanding what he is talking about half the time. If he wants to sit and listen, he’ll learn something.
The regulations that Senator Reith employed effectively meant that small businesses with under 15 employees had a measure of security for operators. They could employ someone and if that staff member didn’t work out, the employer could terminate their services without fear of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in protracted legal battles. Legal costs of this nature can sink a small business, when in reality - and this is the sad part about it - the employee would have just as much recourse through the existing Industrial Relations Commission if they felt they were unjustly terminated. They also retain the common law right to sue for unlawful termination. It doesn’t do away with those provisions. They still have protections under the industrial relations regulations ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Lugg interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! That is deserving of being named.
Mr Lugg: I withdraw that remark.
Mr SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr MANZIE: They still have access to a common law suit. Now, isn’t it ridiculous? We have a system in place which provides protections for ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member was asked to withdraw, and withdrew. Everybody gets that opportunity.
Mr Stirling: Not always.
Mr SPEAKER: You have an opportunity always to withdraw.
Mr MANZIE: Mr Speaker, we have an opportunity here to help small business employ people. We have small business, right across the country, pointing out very clearly and succinctly that the extra burden that the act provides in relation to unfair dismissal prevents them from taking the risk of expanding their business. It prevents them from taking the risk of employing more people. In the Territory, we’re talking between 5000 and 6000 small businesses, who have an opportunity to employ 1 or 2 people. That may be 6000 to 12 000 new jobs.
The Leader of the Opposition has made it very clear that she wants to support small business. She says she wants to. Let’s see her put her money where her mouth is. Let’s see her stand up and say: ‘We will work with small business and we will work with the government to create job opportunities for Territorians’.
Member interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
Mr Ah Kit: I retract that statement.
Mr MANZIE: It is interesting that when the opposition runs out of substance, it reverts to personal abuse. It’s interesting that when they’re challenged to stand up for some of the statements that they make, they’re very reluctant to stand but they’re very keen ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: … to try and shout down someone who’s trying to make a point in relation to jobs in the Territory.
I have written to the Chamber of Commerce and relevant industry groups this morning urging them to support Senator Reith and support small business in creating jobs by writing to Labor and Democrat senators and pointing out that, by their actions, they are destroying job opportunities for young Australians. The protections are still there for employees, both under common law and under statute, but because of the dogma of the Labor Party and the dogma of the Democrats these people are preventing people getting jobs. Let the Leader of the Opposition put her money where her mouth is and let’s hear her stand up for Territory jobs.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, as the member for Nightcliff pointed out, last night the Australian Labor Party and the Democrats voted to overturn legislation which has imposed enormous administrative costs on small business. It has had a direct effect on small businesses’ willingness to employ people, even to the extent that people have avoided expanding their businesses rather than employing staff. If the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party wants to support what their colleagues and their masters did in Canberra, they cannot stand up and say they support business in the Northern Territory. Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made her opening address in reply to the Chief Minister’s statement, and I quote from Hansard:
There is nothing more Labor than providing someone with the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. We are still a society that defines ourselves by whether or not we have a job. The most basic method we can judge our success as a society is the availability of jobs for people who want them. I make no apologies for going after this core Labor value. The successful economic development of the Northern Territory community will only occur into the 21st century if there is a concerted partnership between government, industry, business both small and medium in our community. I will lead a Labor opposition focused on creating and sustaining opportunities for growth and economic prosperity into the next century.
If the Leader of the Opposition wants to add substance to her statement, all she has to do is stand up and say she will write and she will fax her Labor colleagues, her masters in Canberra, and demand that they give passage to the regulations that Senator Reith had employed. Those regulations ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for Wanguri does have a tendency to interrupt and interfere. He jumps into the breach without even understanding what he is talking about half the time. If he wants to sit and listen, he’ll learn something.
The regulations that Senator Reith employed effectively meant that small businesses with under 15 employees had a measure of security for operators. They could employ someone and if that staff member didn’t work out, the employer could terminate their services without fear of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in protracted legal battles. Legal costs of this nature can sink a small business, when in reality - and this is the sad part about it - the employee would have just as much recourse through the existing Industrial Relations Commission if they felt they were unjustly terminated. They also retain the common law right to sue for unlawful termination. It doesn’t do away with those provisions. They still have protections under the industrial relations regulations ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Lugg interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! That is deserving of being named.
Mr Lugg: I withdraw that remark.
Mr SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr MANZIE: They still have access to a common law suit. Now, isn’t it ridiculous? We have a system in place which provides protections for ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member was asked to withdraw, and withdrew. Everybody gets that opportunity.
Mr Stirling: Not always.
Mr SPEAKER: You have an opportunity always to withdraw.
Mr MANZIE: Mr Speaker, we have an opportunity here to help small business employ people. We have small business, right across the country, pointing out very clearly and succinctly that the extra burden that the act provides in relation to unfair dismissal prevents them from taking the risk of expanding their business. It prevents them from taking the risk of employing more people. In the Territory, we’re talking between 5000 and 6000 small businesses, who have an opportunity to employ 1 or 2 people. That may be 6000 to 12 000 new jobs.
The Leader of the Opposition has made it very clear that she wants to support small business. She says she wants to. Let’s see her put her money where her mouth is. Let’s see her stand up and say: ‘We will work with small business and we will work with the government to create job opportunities for Territorians’.
Member interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Mr Speaker!
Mr SPEAKER: What is your point of order?
Mr Ah Kit: I retract that statement.
Mr MANZIE: It is interesting that when the opposition runs out of substance, it reverts to personal abuse. It’s interesting that when they’re challenged to stand up for some of the statements that they make, they’re very reluctant to stand but they’re very keen ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: … to try and shout down someone who’s trying to make a point in relation to jobs in the Territory.
I have written to the Chamber of Commerce and relevant industry groups this morning urging them to support Senator Reith and support small business in creating jobs by writing to Labor and Democrat senators and pointing out that, by their actions, they are destroying job opportunities for young Australians. The protections are still there for employees, both under common law and under statute, but because of the dogma of the Labor Party and the dogma of the Democrats these people are preventing people getting jobs. Let the Leader of the Opposition put her money where her mouth is and let’s hear her stand up for Territory jobs.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016