WorkChoices debate at Manning: Hockey v Shorten (1 Viewer)

[Calculon]

You may be interested in learning that the Work & Organisational Studies Society (WOSOC) has organised the WorkChoices debate of the year to be held on campus. The debate topic is:

WorkChoices: Better for All Australians

Positive Speaker: Joe Hockey, Minister assisting the Minister for Workplace Relations

Negative Speaker: Bill Shorten, National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union

The debate will be moderated by Professor Ron McCallum, Dean of Law at Sydney University.

Date: Thursday October 5th
Time: 1 until 2pm.
Where: Manning Bar

Apologies for the crossposting

 

[townie]

Joe's my local member

 

[hiphophooray123]

once again the hippie members of the crowd (ie, 99% of the audience) proved that they are nothing but bitter dimwits who are unable to listen to a professional debate without yelling out 'bullshit' 'oh cmon' 'yeah as if' etc every 5 seconds. That's why they will never be in charge, because they are simply pathetic.

Bill Shorten also proved that he needs to make 'witty insults LoLz' every sentence in order to get his point across. No matter what his points were the hippies will agree with it anyway, blind sheep.

Man i felt like hitting that one hippie near us justin, ya know the one that had the last question.

Funny how the host paid no attention to the liberal section during question time.

 

[Calculon]

Changing jobs isn't like changing your mortgage. I mean there's at least 70 to 80 different mortgage lenders out there. There simply isn't that kind of choice with employers.

You mean those 70 to 80 lenders, and all but 70 to 80 other business operate without employing anyone?

 

[Generator]

Not all of us were that bad, hiphop.

It's a shame that Shorten wasn't pressed with a proper question following the debate, but overall it was a good hour.

 

[ujuphleg]

I must say that I thought both speakers had their faults - Hockey cos he's an MP and its his job to dodge questions and spout rhetoric and Shorten cos he attacked the Government on all other levels as well - it was a debate about WorkChoices and essentially he did make his point, but could have done it without the jibes however entertaining they were.

Its always going to be difficult for a Government minister to speak at a University, especially one from a Liberal Conservative Government - so props to Hockey for handling the heckling quite well.

Shout out to waf who did his fair share of heckling too.

I would have liked to have seen Shorten have to take a question from the Libs but all in all I think it was a good debate. Pity it didn't go for longer and that we didn't get to ask in depth questions etc. That kind of situation is always difficult to manage though I suppose.

 

[Calculon]

Not all of us were that bad, hiphop.

It's a shame that Shorten wasn't pressed with a proper question following the debate, but overall it was a good hour.

I wanted to give him either:
"Why do you endorse an imparity in contracts whereby an employee can cancel their contract at any time, but employers are forced to pay people to dig holes and fill them in again? Do you support employing two people for one person's job?"

Or simply:
"I hear you spouting a lot of attacks at 'the big end of town', and the 'unproductive rich', but I'd like to ask, Mr Shorten, how much do you get paid?"

 

[ujuphleg]

Wow, hiphop and Susan, you guys were there? I was there with all the Libs, obviously... Raph came in late thinking it was Theatresports and so I ran into him towards the end, too.

*wonders how many BoSers were in the audience*

OMG the other BoSer I want to meet!!

I saw Justin (waf) and was going to ask him if you were there but then the debate started and ya di da di da, plus, I was with Generator and all you Libs were just scary and I didn't really fancy being associated with you.

I want to meet Raph as well, so thats a shame that I wasn't more forthright.

 

[hiphophooray123]

Wow, hiphop and Susan, you guys were there? I was there with all the Libs, obviously... Raph came in late thinking it was Theatresports and so I ran into him towards the end, too.

*wonders how many BoSers were in the audience*

if you were standing with all the libs you would have seen me and i would have seen you

i was the tanned dude in the orange stripped polo. I was standing there looking heaps angry, i wasn't really angry though, i just kept giving that hippie dude dirties, ya know that one that wouldn't let me listen and wouldn't keep his dirty hippie mouth shut.

did u see me?

 

[ujuphleg]

I did see Becky, I just didn't say hi. I didn't know thta it was Becky until I saw her photo in the photo thread, reproduced here:

http://community.boredofstudies.org/2570149/post-18182.html

 

[jpr333]

Interesting, both sides had good arguments/points. The bargaining power qs was not adressed by hockey which is the major issue i think.

 

[Calculon]

A worker knows what he wants, and he knows when he feels like working and how much extra working on Sundays is worth to him. If he won't back down from these demands no lawyer in the world is going to be able to convince him otherwise, and having a QC sitting next to him isn't going to help either.

 

[ElGronko]

Yeah, I knew theatre sports was over, but I saw the massive group of people inside, and figured that it was an impromptu muck around round, or the next season had started already.

I saw Hiphop, and Beccy pointed out Waf to me, but I was too shy to say hello.

 

[hiphophooray123]

Yeah, I knew theatre sports was over, but I saw the massive group of people inside, and figured that it was an impromptu muck around round, or the next season had started already.

I saw Hiphop, and Beccy pointed out Waf to me, but I was too shy to say hello.

duwew wtf sayhi net time

 

[ujuphleg]

Wow, 5am barely coherent posting.

Methinks Chris was a little drunky drunky last night? <insert msn beer emotion here>

 

[hiphophooray123]

 

[jpr333]

A worker knows what he wants, and he knows when he feels like working and how much extra working on Sundays is worth to him. If he won't back down from these demands no lawyer in the world is going to be able to convince him otherwise, and having a QC sitting next to him isn't going to help either.

This isn't really a valid argument nor does it adress the bargaining power issue per say.

 

[Calculon]

This isn't really a valid argument nor does it adress the bargaining power issue per say.

If I want $15 an hour and Sundays off, and won't back down from that, how are all the lawyers in the world going to help the employer? How is a lawyer sitting next to me going to help? If they're going to continue to employ me at that rate with Sundays off, then they will do so, but if it's too expensive, they won't, the lawyers are superfluous. A worker knows how much will feed their family, how much that widescreen TV they want to purchase before the next big sporting event costs, and they know what time they want to be home by each night, the only disparity occurs if you're enforcing a one size fits all union negotiated contract for the entire workplace, because it neglects the individual needs and wants of workers.