Trust us - its not like we are after higher profits
It's not like we have enough misleading Howard government advertisements clogging up our TV screens, a coalition of business groups have now released their own "independent" advertisement in support of Howard government WorkChoices laws (designed by Liberal party pollsters, no doubt for maximum independence from the government!). If anyone was in any doubt about whom the IR laws were designed to benefit, that doubt should have been dispelled by the business groups spending millions on these advertisements. But lets take a look at the ad:
The ad starts with telling us that "it hasn't been easy, but over the last two decades Australia has undergone workplace reform". Well, that's interesting, lets stop right there. Over the last two decades? So a decade before the Howard government the then Labor governments were changing and reforming our IR system to make sure it kept up with the times. But that's not what these business groups want - they don't just want progress, they want the extremes of Howard government's IR agenda.
Then we have those great slogans of all WorkChoices propaganda "Choice", "Flexibility" and "Productivity". Yes, the business groups would like the choice and flexibility it gives the employers to cut their employees' conditions, wages and protections and to force more flexibility out of employees. There are no real choices or flexibilities for the employees, but who cares about the workers, right? The ad then heads into even murkier waters. "Australia's economy has grown by nearly 4%" it boasts - quoting March '07 quarter ABS figures. This is accompanied by a graph showing the rate of growth in seasonally-adjusted GDP increasing from zero to 4% (presumably in response to WorkChoices legislation):
The representation in the graph is blatantly misleading. Needless to say, before the introduction of WorkChoices, GDP growth was nowhere near zero. Secondly, the ad suggests that there is some sort of a causal relationship between WorkChoices and 3.8% annual increase in the GDP evident from ABS figures. No such relationship has been established. Further, GDP growth has on several occasions exceeded the 3.8% in the last decade, see the graph below:
The rate of GDP growth goes up and down in cycles (the average over the 20th century is about 3.5%). To implicitly suggest that the current rate of growth is unusually high or that it is causally related to WorkChoices is to engage in deception.
The subsequent representations that "since the introduction of workplace reforms" new jobs have been created, exports increased and higher dividends have been paid to shareholders are similarly misleading because they suggest a causal relationship between WorkChoices and any economic events since their introduction. The suggestion is utter nonsense. For example, employment figures have been increasing steadily for more than a decade before the introduction of WorkChoices. Similarly, export growth figures are not unusual and the sector is much more likely to be affected by free trade agreements that have been signed, international price and currency fluctuations and international economies than WorkChoices. The suggestion of a link between the two is simply mischievous. The same reasoning applies to dividends to shareholders. Incidentally - if there is a link between dividends and WorkChoices then perhaps we should blame the recent sharemarket collapse on WorkChoices!
Having finished with the blatantly misleading praising of WorkChoices the big business advertisement then descends into ridiculous warnings of the end of the world if WorkChoices laws are abandoned. There is the very subtle "gone out of business because of union bosses" sign painted over a window (gone out of business because of corporate fraud or mismanagement would be a much more realistic sign) followed by a statement that to undo WorkChoices is like trying to unscramble an egg (hmm, WorkChoices = scrambled eggs, nice analogy!).
And then we have the best part - a doom and gloom scenario based on "independent" research. The so-called independent research report that is pictured was produced by Econtech - a company that has close affiliations with the Howard government and the report was in fact commissioned by ACCI for the purposes of this ad, based on rigged assumptions designed to create the outcomes that ACCI wanted.
This blatantly misleading ad concludes with a plea to "keep the workplace reform". Trust us - we the big business know whats best for you. OK, so our member companies maybe the ones that are slashing your conditions and reducing your take home pay, but its not like we are just interested in our profits and our executive bonuses. OK, so we just released a deceptive advertisement, but its for your own good you know, how else are we supposed to get you plebs to see the benefits of being deprived of your rights? Just trust us, ok?
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