Hockey on Thin Ice
In a poll conducted on the eve of the NSW state election, industrial relations legislation was the main issue on voter’s minds, subsequently returning Labor to government with a minor swing against it. It was the first time that the Howard government’s contentious WorkChoices legislation featured strongly in an election campaign.
The Prime Minister yesterday deemed the industrial relation laws irrelevant to the outcome of the NSW’s election, but conceded that federal Labor will try to exploit it nonetheless.
Federal Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey was not so certain that the workplace laws were irrelevant to the election’s outcome. According to Hockey, opinion poll ratings actually dropped for Labor when they started the negative campaigning on industrial relations. Yet, the ads were effective, he said, “we've just seen that in NSW with the union bosses funding an outrageous campaign.”
Meanwhile Hockey has had to defend his own freely dispensed advice on the intricacies of the new industrial relations legislation.
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission is in the process of investigating workers’ entitlements at the manufacturing company Tristar.
Head of Tristar Cheng Hong claimed that Hockey told him in January to sack his workers and then re-employ on workplace agreements. Hockey refuted the claim, calling it a load of rubbish.
“I went into bat for the workers,” Hockey said.
“I explicitly said to the company that they should honour their obligations to the workers and the company said we still have work.”
“If the company was going to rebirth at a later time, then that was up to the company who they employed and how they employed them.”
Hockey is also facing questions over not declaring a family trust fund on his financial interest statement to the Parliament.
Hockey and his children are the sole beneficiaries of The Babbage Hockey Family Trust, which was set up one year ago. Hockey claims he had no knowledge of the investments the trust made.
His wife, Melissa Babbage, runs the company that manages the trust fund.
Joe Hockey WorkChoices NSW election Tristar
1 comment:
Hockey on toast, that'd be delicious. Particularly un-Australian of the Libs to exploit sunrise/kokoda "friendship" in putting Hockey in the killer portfolio, IR. I suppose that's the sort of dirty work you have to do in the Libs to get "blooded".
"Hockey claims he had no knowledge of the investments the trust made.
His wife, Melissa Babbage, runs the company that manages the trust fund."
Yeh, right.
Therese won't be anywhere near the Rudd Family Blind Trust
Post a Comment