I am honoured to be appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, while continuing to serve as Shadow Cabinet Secretary, by Opposition Leader Angus Taylor. I am also pleased to take on the role of Co-Chair of the Coalition Policy Development Committee.
As Shadow Cabinet Secretary, I will continue working closely with the Coalition’s leadership team to ensure a disciplined, unified and policy-focused alternative government.
The Shadow Cabinet Secretary not only supports the Leader in managing the day-to-day procedural and operational matters of the Shadow Cabinet, but also helps shape the policy agenda of the Coalition.
I look forward to working closely with Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Senator Jane Hume, to develop a modern, pro-productivity workplace agenda that backs workers and supports businesses.
Make no mistake: this new role comes at a critical time.
Labor has turned Australia’s industrial relations system into a playground for union powerbrokers and backroom deals.
As a former workplace relations lawyer, I’ve seen firsthand how important integrity is in this space. Yet under this government, corruption and kickbacks have been allowed to fester.
Instead of standing up for workers and small businesses, Labor has stood by while militant unions have been empowered and accountability has been ignored.
At the same time, the world of work is changing fast. Generative AI and new technologies are reshaping the jobs Australians do and how they do them. Our workplace system must evolve with it, recognising new industries, new ways of working and a workforce that expects flexibility and opportunity.
Australia needs an industrial relations system that looks forward, not backward: one that works for workers and businesses alike, not vested interests.
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