Pm Talks Tough On Ir Law Threats

The Age

Tuesday February 19, 2008

Misha Schubert, Political Correspondent, Canberra

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has warned the Liberals they are "playing with fire" if they block his workplace laws in the Senate, and has refused to rule out a double-dissolution election.

But Senator-elect Nick Xenophon, who will share the balance of power when the Coalition loses control of the Senate on July 1, has warned that Mr Rudd's threat could backfire by forcing Labor to deal with "even more pesky independents and minor party people".

The workplace bill is unlikely to face a Senate vote until June after the Coalition signalled its objections and forced an inquiry, disrupting Labor's Easter timetable for banning new Australian Workplace Agreements.

But Mr Rudd muscled up on the issue yesterday when asked if he had considered a double dissolution, which would force all senators to seek re-election at the same time.

"The Liberal Party are playing with fire," he said. "The Australian people said 'Get rid of Work Choices, get rid of AWAs'. I think the Liberal Party should reflect on their own future when it comes to this extraordinary act of contempt."

A double dissolution can be triggered when the Senate rejects a bill twice, but only if there is a three-month break between the two votes. Given the first vote is unlikely to occur before June, Labor appears to be anticipating resistance from the new Senate after July 1 when it will rely on the Greens, Family First senator Steve Fielding and Senator-elect Xenophon.

Senator Fielding has already indicated concerns about axing AWAs but is unlikely to vote for keeping WorkChoices intact.

The Liberals' deputy leader, Julie Bishop, hit back at the threat of a double dissolution, accusing Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard of making no attempt to negotiate with the Opposition while making threats and bullying the Senate.

The debate came as Labor sent 436,000 WorkChoices brochures to be pulped.

Ms Gillard told Parliament the booklets were not the only fiction that should be pulped, but also "the fiction" being promoted by former workplace minister Joe Hockey that Howard government ministers did not know that WorkChoices could hurt working families.

© 2008 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home