Revive IR reform, says Howard

Former Prime Minister John Howard has urged the Coalition to return to the individual employment contracts of the Work Choices era and to crack down on unfair dismissal claims against small business, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Howard claims that Labor’s reregulation of the jobs market will impose a mounting toll on the economy.

He also used an unguarded and off-the-record speech to a forum to argue Labor and Democrat opposition over including food in the goods and services tax had created a yawning revenue shortfall for the states.

In his speech, Howard argued that the “one bad political mistake” of Work Choices was the removal of the no disadvantage test – which prevented workers from being worse off under individual contracts – and questioned the widely held view the laws cost the party the 2007 election.

Boom has life in it yet, says Swan and Emerson

Treasurer Wayne Swan has issued a staunch warning against people seeking to declare the resources investment boom dead, saying such commentary threatened to damage consumer and business confidence, according to the AFR.

“Behaving as if the investment pipeline has suddenly run dry is not only false, it’s irresponsible,” Swan said in his economic note on Sunday.

Rio reassesses expansion plans

Rio Tinto copper chief Andrew Harding says the miner’s risk appetite has changed in the past six months and management teams have been asked to identify areas where expansion can be delayed, according to the AFR.

As falling commodity prices and cancelled expansion plans spark fears the mining boom has peaked, Harding said it had become more difficult to get board approval for large-scale projects.

“The environment does have an influence on the decision-making of a project,” Harding said.

“I would think they [Rio board] would have a different view of me turning up with a $US10 billion project today than if I turned up with a $US10 billion project six months ago.”

While his remarks were ostensibly aimed at the opposition they came after Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said last Thursday “the resources boom is over”