Minister for Workplace Relations Joe Hockey directly pegged his career to the success of WorkChoices during an industrial relations debate with Labor’s deputy leader Julia Gillard. Hockey declared that he will resign if a re-elected Howard government made significant changes to the legislation.
Gillard, the opposition’s industrial relations spokesperson, said that the Coalition would continue to change the laws without declaring their intentions to the public first. "The policy the government took to the last election is not what they delivered," she reminded the audience. "Their industrial relations policy didn't tell us about industrial relations at all.”
"I will resign as a minister in the Howard Government if there are any substantial changes or any of the changes that Julia Gillard has just flagged," replied Hockey.
