[Greens-Media] "Fairness" put to the test by the Greens

[Ozich, Clare (Sen R. Siewert)]

"Fairness" put to the test by the Greens


"There are still too many loopholes in the government's safety net for
it to provide the protection that working families need," said Senator
Rachel Siewert today.

 The government refused to support Greens' amendments to fix a number of
the glaring gaps that would have ensured a fairer and more robust safety
net. 

The Greens also moved amendments to ensure a minimum standard for
redundancy pay based on the AIRC test case from 2004. 

"Surprisingly the amendment received no support from either the ALP or
the Democrats. It seems only the Greens truly see redundancy pay as a
core minimum condition," said Senator Siewert. 

"In contrast the government was happy to give Family First's Steve
Fielding a political boost by supporting an amendment that merely
preserved redundancy provisions - a move which will not achieve anything
for most working families." 

"It is not sufficient to merely "preserve" redundancy pay for 1 or 2
years. Redundancy pay has long been recognised as a right for all
Australian employees and should be a minimum standard." 

"The Greens believe a true safety net would apply to all AWAs,
regardless of income, and would consider all conditions in a relevant
award, not just the government's limited list," concluded Senator
Siewert.




For more information or comment call Chris Twomey on 0407 725 025
Email senator.siewert at aph.gov.au  |  http://www.rachelsiewert.org.au

RESCUE THE SENATE


Senator Rachel Siewert
Australian Greens Senator for Western Australia


Wednesday, 20 June 2007