Back to the bad old days

Perhaps the Howard government's greatest achievement was to just about reach full employment. The flexibility of the previous industrial relations law had a lot to do with it. Now with Rudd's industrial law changes we could be heading back to the bad old days of high unemployment and high inflation.

LABOR'S industrial relations changes are likely to trigger job losses and higher inflation that will ultimately create "wage-price spirals" and drive up interest rates, according to Treasury's official analysis of the plan to scrap Work Choices.

The Treasury critique also finds that limiting unfair dismissal laws will cut jobs, increase red tape for small business and make it more difficult for people to move from welfare to work.

The disclosure of the highly critical economic assessment of the plan to scrap John Howard's Work Choices laws came as Wayne Swan insisted that fighting inflation and taking price pressures off working families were the Government's prime budget objectives.

The Reserve Bank also warned yesterday of the danger of a wages breakout forcing interest rates higher, putting the Government on notice after Victorian teachers this week won a massive pay rise from the state Government that could trigger follow-up claims.

Treasury's assessment of the Prime Minister's industrial relations blueprint before last year's election is contained in an executive minute dated April 18, last year, which is the subject of a Freedom of Information claim.......

The sad thing is that the first to lose their jobs are likely to be marginal semi-skilled and unskilled workers. The type who always vote Labor and believed the Unions anti Work Choices propaganda.