Despite the fact that the industrial relations reform working group negotiations are supposedly undertaken in the strictest of confidence, it has been reported in this newspaper that four of the employer groups, including Master Builders, were furious and I apparently walked out “in disgust”. I can confirm that this is an accurate depiction of what occurred.

Master Builders Australia entered two of the IR reform working groups in good faith and with one core objective: how could we unravel, by agreement with the unions, the complexities of the industrial relations system to achieve lasting change that could not only save jobs but create new ones, amid the worst recession in nearly 100 years?