With so much focus nationally on workplace relations reforms I thought I would put my two bob’s worth in.
Why you WOULD believe the Government
The Federal Government has the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate which pretty much says they can do as they want (to an extent). Reforms such as this one do not worry me so much as they are reversible and John Howard must be pretty sure they are not going to effect employees as much as Unions would have you believe. This is because the majority of voters ARE employees and if it did effect them dramatically the Liberal Coalition would lose the next election. In my opinion the effect will not be dramatic in good economic times as employees have more power when they are hard (and expensive) to replace. The other reason is because the government is right in saying that there are way too many awards in the marketplace and replacing this with a simpler system will be better for all employers and employees.
Why you would NOT believe the Government
Well the GST is one reason. This TAX was to replace the “complex” Sales Tax System and was sold to the Australians as being simpler and better, however the simple fact is the government tax take is around 50 billion dollars a year more than the previous system, it is also tied to a percentage so as prices rise the government gets more money. Coupled with the fact that we have so many other taxes which the government receives such as excises and duties. Fact is anything the government receives from the public in the way of revenues IS a tax.
In a tougher economic climate when unemployment is higher it will makes it tougher for employees because more people will be looking for work and employers can offer lower wages.
Summing Up
This is one reform that can be reversed, so if the elected government wants to pass it, then it should be given safe passage after being scrutinised by the opposition and independents and I think they have done a good job so far. The effect on the owners of real estate agencies in this industry will be minimal if anything at all as it is more or less targeted at bigger employees and as this industry is incentive based no real effect will be felt.
