The current turmoil within the Democrats is not expected to make the passage of industrial relations bills currently before Parliament any easier, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Abbott says.
Addressing a Commerce Queensland lunch in Brisbane today, Abbott told guests he does not expect the Democrats to vote as a block after the party's public dispute with rebel Senator Andrew Murray.
Thirteen workplace
bills are currently before Parliament, addressing issues such as union bargaining fees and the holding of secret ballots to determine whether strike action can be taken.
"A divided Democrats will be harder to deal with ... it's always easier to work with a party that's united," Abbott says.
"Until now, I've had a pretty good relationship with the Democrats."
He expects most of the Bills to get through Parliament, with some amendments, and says he was not surprised the small business exemption of the unfair-dismissal provisions of the
Workplace Relations Act 1996 did not
pass.
"But you can't count on anything except cast iron commitments," he says.
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