There is an uneasiness in the community that it might become the norm for people to lose their penalty rates for nothing in return and we want to stop that," he said.Howard is not concerned with the fairness or otherwise of the system, he is concerned with the "unease" generated by the system.
"This puts us in the middle ground of the industrial relations debate."So moving one inch away for Fascism is now "the middle ground"? Shows how far we have come under Howard, doesn't it?
Mr Howard has stopped short of actually reviving the mandated "no-disadvantage test" as advocated by Labor but recognised that people were losing conditions.
In more Orwellian polical shuffling, the Office of Workplace Services will be renamed the Workplace Ombudsman. BTW every time they do these re-branding it's a packet of taxpayer money being used for new letterheads, website upgrades, etc. And another few thousand manhours of departmental time wasted.
Here's another story that only hit the AP wires just after the nightly TV news shows had finished yesterday: Govt to overhaul school flagpole program:
Under the scheme, schools that install an Australian flag and pole on their grounds are entitled to a government rebate of up to $1,500.How Fascist is that??? Public schools desperate for cash can suck Coalition butt or get f***ed. Of course, it's a story which could cause nasty pre-election headines, so Education Minister Julie Bishop is "changing the guidelines" ... at least until after the next election.
But strict conditions were attached, including that a coalition MP be invited to a flag-unveiling ceremony, that a picture of the MP be published in the school newsletter, and that a plaque be erected noting the government's contribution.
These sort of stories just highlight the fact that we need government ministers in Canberra with some real, genuine, proven ethical standards, not just people who will blow in the wind whichever way the polls blow, or whichever way their party leaders tell them to.
