Statement attributable to Business Council Chief Executive Bran Black:
The announcement of a new Fair Work Court should not be seen as a substitute for fixing the complexity the Government itself has created in workplace laws over the past four years.
Instead of adding another layer of red tape, we need to make the system simpler to understand for both employees and employers.
For a small business, a case that costs more than it’s worth is not only unfair, it can be the difference between staying open or closing its doors.
We support faster, simpler and more affordable workplace resolutions. But this announcement has the potential to yet again add another layer of process without any real practical benefit.
This complexity is also taking workplaces back to the old days of more combative disputes, rather than encouraging the cooperative workplaces for which we should be striving.
If this Court proceeds, judges must be appointed on merit, independent and impartial so that both workers and employers can trust that it is fair.
We will engage closely on all the details and proposed arrangements, including on how the new court will interact with the Fair Work Commission and its processes – it needs to deliver real solutions, not just more red tape.