Opposition reaffirms labour policy but feds says Libs are turning around
The Coalition said on Tuesday that it remains firm on its earlier elections stance that the Fair Work Act must be left unchanged for a maximum of three years in order to encourage certainty in the business environment.
This despite revelations from the federal government that a number of opposition members were working on the exemptions of additional businesses from unfair dismissal laws as acting opposition leader Warren Truss maintained that no changes were being considered at this time on the Coalition's industrial policy.
Mr Truss said that the opposition's elections pledges on the labour questions remain undisturbed and "if we are going to make any changes, it would be as a result of the policy that we put to the Australian people at the next election."
He said that the Coalition is firmly adhering to a policy review process on the matter, which he noted has just commenced and could take quite some time for completion as he reminded that the Liberals "current industrial relations policy remains our industrial relations policy at this time."
The federal government, however, scored that same policy review which it claimed was being utilised to resurrect old elements of workplace relations policy.
In that light, Industrial Relations Minister Chris Evans revealed that some opposition MPs have started talks on working for the re-calibration of the industrial relations policy as he pointed out that "part of their review is to walk back from the commitments Tony Abbott made during the election campaign."
Mr Evans maintained that the country dismissed Mr Abbot's arguments during the campaign period and these latest pronouncements, according to him, were pointing to the fact that WorkChoices consideration is back in the Liberals agenda.