Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management) (14:11): Thank you, Senator White, who is, again, one of the people on our side of the chamber who has a long history of standing up for the rights of workers, and also of forming very co-operative relationships with business in her career in the union movement. Senator White is a great example of what our government is trying to do, which is build partnerships between unions, workers and business for the benefit of the economy, for the benefit of those businesses and also for those workers. I understand it's a foreign concept for those opposite, who just thrive on conflict and want to keep us in that conflict driven environment that we've been in for 10 years, but some of us actually want to move on. And, do you know what? So does small business. Let me just give one example of the small businesses out there that are actually looking forward to the kind of multi-employer bargaining that we are proposing to have. Now— Senator McKenzie: He's no Julie Collins! Senator Canavan: Just get to the point, mate! Senator Henderson: You want mass strikes! The PRESIDENT: Senator Watt, I'm going to wait for silence. Order! I ask Senators McKenzie and Henderson in particular to lower the tone of their interjections, please. Minister, please continue. Senator WATT: On the one hand, the opposition demands examples of small businesses that support the system we're trying to bring in. But the minute we try to do it they don't want to hear about it. That's because the opposition are intent on keeping our country in a conflict driven model that does not work for anyone. Ms Julie Price, the Executive Director of the Community Child Care Association, gave evidence to the Senate inquiry recently. She represents over 750 community not-for-profit early childhood education and care centres. She gave evidence explaining that multi-employer bargaining in Victoria had delivered above-award wages for workers over a decade with the support of employers. What she said was— Senator McKenzie: How many people does Julie employ? Name one! The PRESIDENT: Senator Watt, please resume your seat. Order, senators—particularly those on my left. Please continue, Minister Watt. Senator WATT: Thank you, President. Ms Price, who represents hundreds of community owned childcare centres, made the point that the agreement they had struck across a range of enterprises covers just under 60 services in Victoria. It delivers better wages, 16 per cent above the award, and she goes on to say that the centres are community owned, managed by boards and volunteers, and they don't have the financial resources and the expertise in IR to be able to negotiate an agreement themselves. This is the kind of system that small businesses can take advantage of to avoid having big HR departments and to strike agreements with their workers, which is what they want. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator White, your first supplementary question.