PM's dismissal plans far from family-friendly

The Government will argue that it has an electoral mandate for these laws. There are two arguments against this view.

First, the issues referred to above were not discussed in detail in the election campaign. This was partly due to Labor’s stance. When the opportunity arose to debate these issues, the Opposition seemed to instead apologise for the effect of the law on small business and focused on its policies to streamline and reduce the cost of claims. It avoided talking about power relationships in the workplace.

Second there is no electoral mandate without the control of both houses of parliament. The Coalition may yet win control of the Senate, but if it does not, the possible role of the Family First party comes clearly into focus.

While many smaller businesses are family based, it is also true that many more families are likely to suffer from the introduction of the proposed laws. The Family First's policies don’t tell us whether it will vote for the Coalition's “Fair Dismissal” legislation.

Family First's industrial relations policy is mainly a motherhood statement. It speaks of "the need to accommodate competing interests and rights along with principles of natural justice, procedural fairness and the rights of all workers to receive a just wage whilst the entrepreneur receives a just profit". The party also supports "empowerment and certainty for employees in regard to hours worked and the scheduling of work".

The Government's "Fair Dismissal" legislation abolishes the right to natural justice and procedural fairness for workers employed in smaller businesses. It is not family friendly. It never obtained support from the socially conservative Tasmanian independent Senator Brian Harradine. But Harradine is a Catholic with his roots in the union movement. The Family First party has different religious and social roots.

Whether it identifies more with those families that own small business or those families that work in them will be an important early indicator of its real politics.