Introduction of The Bill Into Parliament
The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 (Cth) was introduced into the Australian House of Representatives on 2 November 2005 by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews.
The Australian Labor Party claimed it was not provided with enough copies of the Bill when it entered the Parliament. They mounted a campaign against the Bill in Parliament throughout the day. During Question Time, Opposition members continually interjected while Government members were speaking, leading the Speaker (and later the Deputy Speaker) to remove 11 of them.
The Bill passed through the House of Representatives on 10 November and was introduced into the Senate later that day by Special Minister of State, Senator Eric Abetz. The Bill was passed, with amendments, by the Senate, by a vote of 35–33 on 2 December 2005.
The Bill received the Royal Assent on 14 December and the parts concerning the Australian Fair Pay Commission, wages for school based trainees and apprentices, and redundancy pay for small employers became enacted immediately from that date.
The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations released the first set of regulations for the bill on 17 March 2006 and following that the complete act – titled in full as the Workplace Relations Act 1996, Act No. 86 of 1988 as amended – was proclaimed by Australia's Governor-General Michael Jeffery. The act commenced on 27 March 2006.
In July 2007, a new biography of John Howard has said that he pushed the Work Choices legislation through in 2006 so that it wouldn't be announced in an election year, and that several cabinet ministers had concerns that the legislation would disadvantage too many workers, which they expressed several times.
Read more about this topic: WorkChoices
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