But Burke said the chance of getting everyone in agreement about workplace relations was “a remote possibility”.
“You can negotiate forever,and what happens in that time? We continue with wages being kept low,” he said.
Flanked by a crowd of early educators,who the government has spruiked as potential beneficiaries of multi-employer bargaining,Burke confronted the use of arguments about soaring living costs to oppose the legislation.
“The cost of living has two sides,it has prices and it has wages,and you can’t seriously care about cost of living unless you’re doing something about wages,” Burke said.
The bill passed 80 votes to 56 with support from the Greens and some independents including Dr Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel,the latter of whom described the concern over the potential impact on small businesses as being “multipartisan”. Independent Helen Haines also said the size of affected businesses needed to be addressed.
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South Australian independent Rebekha Sharkie pushed to raise the definition of a small business to 100 employees,saying the current bill would capture fruit and vegetable stores,petrol stations,and other small,independent operators.
“This bill is unwittingly putting mum and dad operators against unions,” Sharkie said. “This government is setting up small business for a David and Goliath battle,where David is small business and Goliath is the unions.”
Opposition MP Dan Tehan said the house was sending Burke a clear message:“You’ve got this wrong”.
The government voted down most crossbencher and opposition amendments,which included scrapping a veto right for unions on pay deals between employers and workers.
Independent Dr Sophie Scamps,from Sydney’s northern beaches,also received the support of fellow Sydney independent Allegra Spender and West Australian Kate Chaney in arguing against the scrapping of the controversial Australian Building and Construction Commission.
The government has pledged to scrap the agency as it believes it is politicised and predominantly concerned with policing union activity.
North Sydney independent MP Kylea Tink,who successfully moved an amendment to givea new construction industry oversight body more accountability,criticised the government over being handed dozens of pages of amendments with just a day to consider them.
“The creation of much of this anxiety is a result of the government’s decision to push this through so quickly,” Tink said.
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Burke made several concessions after negotiating with both businesses and unions,including barring the commercial building sector from being able to undertake multi-employer bargaining and making it easier for workers to engage in industrial action.
Business groups,including the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,Australian Industry Group,and Business Council of Australia - who the government has been consulting with over the legislation - issued a joint statement on Wednesdayurging against the bill being passed.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.