gillard and keneally at war

Good on keneally for sticking up for whats right.
A FULL-SCALE political war has erupted between Julia Gillard and Premier Kristina Keneally with the Prime Minister last night threatening to hold back $150 million in payments to NSW as payback for a dispute over union rights.
However Ms Keneally struck back, accusing the PM of being illogical and acting unfairly when it came to the people of NSW. She said that Ms Gillard was being heavy handed and over the top.

Ms Gillard wrote a letter yesterday to Ms Keneally warning her that if she did not drop her refusal to sign up to the Federal Government's national industrial reforms, the Commonwealth would withhold a tranche of payments to the state.

However her office released the letter to media outlets before sending it to Ms Keneally, who had not received it by 6pm. Those payments are estimated to be worth $176 million and are to compensate NSW for 27 areas of deregulation the states have agreed to undertake.

Ms Gillard is threatening to withhold all the payments if Ms Keneally does not budge on a single component - the abolition of union rights to prosecute employers for workplace safety breaches.

Ms Keneally has argued NSW would not sign up to occupational health and safety laws unless it retains the rights of unions to prosecute over workplace safety breaches.

"OHS is only one of 27 deregulation priorities monitored by the Federal Government through the COAG Reform Council," she said.

"It would be unjust, illogical and unfair to keep all or any of the $176.67 million in payments. [It is] very premature to talk about sanctions or penalising NSW as we are hopeful that the Federal Government will re-consider and allow NSW to retain these two important aspects of its laws.

"We are acting in good faith as we are trying to protect workers' safety and promote fairness in the workplace. The response of the Federal Government is an over-reaction and heavy handed. We ask them to reconsider."

Ms Keneally said the rights she was arguing for had enabled asbestos victims to get compensation from James Hardie and had been instrumental in protections for bank tellers from armed robberies.

Ms Keneally last week wrote to Ms Gillard and said that NSW would only sign up to the new laws if the union right was retained.

Ms Gillard is said to be furious with Ms Keneally as one of her own key reforms is being held up because of the on-going dispute.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/pm-julia-gillard-and-premier-krisitna-keneally-at-war/story-e6freuy9-1225939879914