Lend them a hand

More church responses on the latest IR proposals (and yes, the Salvation Army is a church, not a charity). I find it amusing to see the ABC seek the opinions of church leaders so earnestly when they are dealing with an issue that ABC policy must direct it to tacitly or overtly oppose.

Listening to ABC's AM program of a morning, there are far more harsh questions, probes and interrogations of Government representatives on this than on issues the ABC is sympathetic to (witness their soft interview of Quensland Premier Peter Beattie over Health a while back).

But now, heres this...

NICK MCKENZIE: But the Government has argued that it is still guaranteeing key conditions, and it's up to the worker, the employee, who can ask for the help of a bargaining agent, to decide if they want to then trade them away when they're signing up to an AWA.

JOHN DALZIEL: Yes, well the Salvation Army deals with people who are desperate. And I can assure you the desperate person will be quite willing to accept the most basic conditions to get their rung on the ladder. It won't matter how good the bargainer is, they'll say look that's all right, this is much better than being long term unemployed, or no other way I'm going to get a job, I'm not bright enough to get through to HSC.

NICK MCKENZIE: The Salvation Army has argued in the past for an ethical approach to boosting employment. Is this reform package ethical?

JOHN DALZIEL: When you look at this reform package from the most disadvantaged in Australia, it is not ethical because it exploits them.