The AFR View

Coalition can't retreat on modest IR goals

The Coalition appears to have Stockholm syndrome, and can't even push through Labor policies on workplace relations reform.

Dec 11, 2020 – 12.00am

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

The Morrison government’s resolve on industrial relations did not last the day. On Wednesday morning, Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter tabled an omnibus bill including five modest changes that would make it easier for businesses to manage and hire people in turbulent times.

By late afternoon he was wavering over important features of the bill in the face of union and Labor pushback. Employees in companies up against the wall because of COVID-19 would not be able to temporarily drop compliance with the notoriously rigid Better Off Overall Test in enterprise agreements in order to save their jobs.

The Australian Financial Review’s succinct take on the principles at stake in major domestic and global stories – and what policy makers should do about them.