Rudd commits to scrapping Work Choices March 03, 2007 03:32pm
FEDEARL opposition leader Kevin Rudd has firmly committed Labor to scrapping the government's Work Choices legislation, in an address to a party conference.
Mr Rudd vowed today that if Labor is elected to office at the election expected late this year, it would "consign these laws to the dustbin of history".
Previously, Mr Rudd had hinted at a softer stance on rolling back the part of the legislation affecting small businesses, but he made no mention of that today.
Under Work Choices, workers at businesses with 100 or fewer employees no longer had access to unfair dismissal protection, a measure welcomed by business but bitterly opposed by the union movement.
Under Kim Beazley's leadership, Labor vowed to restore protection, but Mr Rudd had previously left the door open to a softer stance.
Mr Rudd said the campaign against the laws was buoyed by Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this week, showing poorer wages under Australian Workplace Agreements.
"If you vote for a Labor government, we will get rid of them (the new workplace laws) forever and for good," Mr Rudd promised.
He also told the conference that this week's stock market slump pointed to Australia's vulnerability and the importance of looking beyond the country's resource boom.
He said nuclear power was not an option for Australia and would not happen under a federal Labor government.
The conference this afternoon heard argument about changes to Labor's uranium mining policy, to which many Victorian members remain opposed.
However, state president Bill Shorten avoided a decision on the issue by referring the matter to the party's national conference.
The Australian Workers Union national secretary refused to count whether a closely fought vote would have kept the matter in state hands, citing party conference rules.
Mr Rudd used his speech to announce federal Labor would provide $115 million to water pipelines in Victoria to service Bendigo and Ballarat.
