Mr CREAN (Hotham—Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government and Minister for the Arts) (15:31): I am asked this question by the member for Lyons, and I thank him for the question because he, like all of those on this side of the House, came into this parliament determined to defeat Work Choices. And we did that when we became a government and introduced Fair Work Australia. It was the Prime Minister today—the then Deputy Prime Minister—who led that charge and introduced Fair Work Australia. What that has done is to restore fairness to the workplace. It has restored fairness because it has restored the right to collective bargaining—a universally recognised right that was denied under Work Choices. It has also restored the requirement to bargain in good faith. That is also something that was denied under Work Choices. I am asked, also, what rights are affected when individual contracts were brought in. I remind the House of two pertinent examples. One was the Corowa meatworks, where they sacked all of their workforce and put a new workforce on individual contracts and did not pay any redundancy to the sacked workers. Then there was Spotlight, where the workers were taken off enterprise bargains, put onto individual contracts and had all of the penalty rates stripped away. They were two examples that happened under their watch that could never have happened under previous legalisation. The SPEAKER: Order, the member will not refer to the opposition. Mr CREAN: I am asked, generally, how this has affected what individual contracts have done. When individual contracts were brought in in this country it had the effect of two-thirds of individual contracts cutting annual leave loading and penalty rates. One half of them cut shift work, overtime, rest breaks and holiday pay. One third of them cut public holidays and one fifth of them had provisions in them for no pay increase for up to five years. That is what individual contracts did. I also make the point that apart from restoring fairness and dignity to the workplace when we introduced Fair Work Australia, it has also had significant benefits for the Australian economy. We have had the record job growth which I spoke about yesterday. No four-year period in the history of this country has seen 750,000 jobs created. It has also been great for the economy because it has lowered industrial disputes. So why would anyone want to return to individual contracts? I am asked by the member: what is the future of individual contracts in this country? I say to you, under us there is absolutely no future, because we are determined to keep the system that we have in place. But the same cannot be said for the other side. We heard yesterday the former minister for Industrial Relations, Peter Reith, stirring on the other side of politics to go back to Work Choices. But fortunately we had a statement from the Leader of the Opposition saying, 'We don't support individual contracts.' Mr Pyne: I rise on a point of order. It is transparently obvious that the minister is not listening to the admonition that you made at the beginning of his answer. This will be the sixth minister who has strayed from the rulings that you have given, and I ask you to bring him back to the question, or he should sit down. The SPEAKER: In the first 3½ minutes I think that members would have to admit that, in a fairly robust and feisty contest of ideas, the minister has shown what is still possible under a tightening of the interpretations of the standing orders. Before he gets too swollen a head, I remind him not to stray too much. Mr CREAN: I am trying not to stray, Mr Speaker, but I am asked what the future of statutory individual contracts are. Whilst the Leader of the Opposition has ruled them out— The SPEAKER: Order, you are in conclusion— Mr CREAN: No, Mr Speaker, that is not what the member for Mayo said. The member for Mayo, when he was asked today, said they wanted to return to them. There is no future for individual contracts under us. The only thing the other side cannot say no to— The SPEAKER: The minister has lost the call. Ms Gillard: I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.