20th November, 2005

With tens of thousands of Australians gathering last week in protest at the Federal Government's proposed Workplace Relations Bill, we asked Christian leaders for their response on the reforms...

Rev John Henderson, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA):

"The members of the National Council of Churches in Australia support the responsibility of government, given to it by God, to make good legislation for the benefit of the nation. They are not convinced, however, that Work Choices is either good legislation or of benefit. They have many questions about fairness and justice in the proposed legislation, but it has been disappointingly difficult to talk to the government about them. Churches frequently partner with government as major providers of community services. They are also major employers, so they are involved first hand in the issues the bill deals with...The current system is not perfect, but is it really an agreement if one party holds all the cards? How will removing many of the guarantees developed over the last century benefit workers, especially people who are more vulnerable and less able to ‘bargain’? In June, the NCCA said, 'We are uneasy about the bottom line in all this. Keeping Australia competitive should not be at the expense of workers and their families. Workers are not commodities, but people, human beings, loved by God. Our community has values that are more important than economics.' These questions have not been answered, and the bill is pushed through Parliament with apparent haste. The NCCA wants a broader, more open, and less combative community discussion on these important proposals for the well being of all Australians, and our nation."

Jim Wallace, executive chairman of the Australian Christian Lobby:

"The Australian Christian Lobby understands the need for some changes to the Industrial Relations environment in Australia, but does not believe this should be done at the expense of families and particularly family time. When penalty rates are to be folded into base pay in the negotiation of Australian Workplace Agreements, it removes the visible premium that the employer pays for requiring labour to work on weekends and public holidays.  Over time this will inevitably see these days no different in the eyes of the employer from work days. But they are very different in the routine of families. It is weekends and public holidays when children are free from school and largely homework and available to share time with families.  We do not want to find that that time is not maximised because parents are caused to work on them to an even greater degree than they are already. The family unit is under enough stress in the modern world, and governments should be ensuring that all legislation reinforces the family unit."

Rev Dr Dean Drayton, president of the Uniting Church in Australia:
"The Uniting Church is concerned at the plight of vulnerable Australians under the industrial relations reforms being proposed by the Government. This reflects the decisions of the 1994 National Assembly of the Uniting Church which stated that: “The market is not an adequate way of organising paid employment, since not everyone has equal power in the market.“...As a church we are already working with and supporting the most vulnerable people in our community and we feel that this legislation has the potential to put even more pressures on those people. Underlying all of that is our understanding of who God is...In His ministry Jesus focused on what's been called a preferential option for the poor. Yes, the Gospel was also open for the rich but Jesus spent His time with the poor and my fear is that the way this legislation is written, it's really a preferential option for the rich...We know that the Government has an ideological commitment to giving the employer greater power in the interests of freeing up the economy. Our concern is that if the Government wants to go in this direction, then they need to look at the situation for vulnerable workers who don't have the same capacity to bargain as higher paid workers do. The Government is setting up employers and employees for workplace arm-wrestles. While that may work for some people it's a real problem for those whose arm is not so strong - for the low paid and vulnerable workers it will always be a one-sided arm wrestle. What we are saying is do not let these people pay the price of the system being freed up." 

Anglican Primate Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, speaking as all of Australian Anglican Archbishops and 17 Bishops, expressed concern there would not be time to properly assess the proposed legislation earlier this month:

"We have strong concerns that not enough time is being allowed for a full examination of the 1200 or so pages of material relating to these IR changes. We have seen in recent days how just one word in a piece of legislation can have a very significant impact. With the industrial legislation, there is a 700-page bill and 500 pages of explanatory memoranda to wade through, relating to complex legal matters and developed over a long time by leading industrial lawyers.Time is now needed for everyone else to catch up. These changes are for the long term and will make a daily difference to the lives of individual Australian employees, their families and local communities. Whether or not this difference is for the better or worse depends on the detail of the legislation. We need time to look at it. What we do know, however, is that how we live and work are very, very important matters that must not be rushed."