Paul Kelly: A bizarre blast from the past

LABOR leader Kevin Rudd has seized a bizarre fate -- a resurrection of trade union power, collective bargaining rights and a far stronger industrial umpire as the keys to The Lodge.
Rudd's new industrial policy is a giant step into the past. Indeed, so sweeping is Labor's embrace of the principles of collective power and re-regulation that it must be wondered whether Rudd fully comprehends what he has done.

It is the most intriguing question from the ALP national conference.

Neither Rudd's spin as the leader of the future nor his selling of the policy as a homily to family values can disguise its reality - this is a radical re-casting against individual discretion, employers and small business in favour of collective power, trade unions and third-party enforcement.

With this policy, Rudd forfeits any chance of being a serious rival to John Howard on economic policy. He looks a conventional leader using spin to pose as a modernist.

The mechanics of the decision are telling. The policy is a collaboration between two of Labor's best brains, ACTU chief Greg Combet and deputy leader Julia Gillard. It has not been approved by the Opposition front bench. It has not been vetted by Labor's business guru, Rod Eddington. It was not debated at national conference because it mirrors a Labor-ACTU consensus. Key sections were kept from business before the announcement.

It draws a line in the sand. It defines Rudd's election strategy as a joint and massive assault by Labor and the trade unions against Work Choices.

At this point Labor loses the goodwill of big business, the hope of winning small business and the dream that it stands for entrepreneurship. Rudd's election strategy is to pitch to working families with the claim that an arrogant Howard has abandoned them.
The stage is set for a bitter election over the industrial model that Australia needs for its open economy, an issue unresolved for a generation that now approaches showdown time.

The Rudd-Gillard policy Forward with Fairness is a sweeping alternative to Work Choices. It reveals Labor's conviction that Work Choices is a loser for Howard, that Labor had no option but to find a policy acceptable to the unions and that its marketing by Rudd and Gillard should rely upon fairness and family values.

In his speech, Rudd said Howard had launched "an assault on Australian family life" and that Labor would "restore the balance".

This is neither a credible nor accurate statement about the totality of Labor's policy. This policy goes far beyond any family friendly test. It is better described as union friendly. The details and the scale of Labor's package transcend any effort merely to restore fairness to the workplace.

Consider two of the latest elements. First, Labor will allow any workplace where there is 51per cent support for collective bargaining to impose this upon the employer for the entire workplace. The new umpire, Fair Work Australia, can decide whether there is majority support (yes, a union-organised petition is enough). The Labor Party calls this democracy and wants to pretend it is family friendly. In truth, it is about power. Power for collective at the cost of minority rights.

Second, Fair Work Australia centralises powers on a huge scale such that the advisory, mediating, prosecuting and judiciary functions are combined (yes, the umpire will have different divisions). This raises serious questions of workability and of the powers and culture of such an organisation. Its officials will be located in your neighbourhood. Is this a blessing or a terror for local business?

It is significant that Labor formulated this concept in consultation with the unions and in secret from business. Such an institution is more about power than fairness.

In addition, Labor will create a new complex safety net based upon both 10 nationally legislated and universal conditions (applying to both big and small business) plus a re-strengthened award system containing a further 10 minimum standards. And don't forget: individual workplace agreements will be outlawed and unfair dismissal laws re-imposed.

Business wanted to believe in Rudd. It is unlikely to repeat the mistake. As an exasperated chief of the Australian Industry Group, Heather Ridout, said: "Kevin Rudd talks a lot about productivity but this re-regulation will lower productivity."