The Facts on Brendan Nelson

Brendan Nelson is out of touch with working families on workplace laws

The Liberals' extreme and unfair WorkChoices laws pushed the balance in the workplace against working families.

WorkChoices laws have allowed a cut to overtime, penalty rates, holiday pay and other conditions.

Despite evidence that the Liberals' unfair workplace laws hurt working families, Brendan Nelson was a big supporter of the laws - he voted 20 times to ensure the laws were introduced.




On the Sunday program on 25 March 2007 while discussing WorkChoices with reporter Laurie Oakes, Brendan Nelson, said ;

"Well, firstly the Work Choices legislation is about Australia's future......."

He discussed his concern about the potential influence of some Labor candidates that had a union background and said;

"So it's extremely important for the average, everyday Australian that likes a bit of balance in this country, to make absolutely sure that the Howard Government is returned at the end of the year and, we, of course, will have a forward agenda further developed to present to the people by the time we go to the polls."

This is yet another example of where the Liberals appear to signalled an intention to go further with WorkChoices.

In a speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University on 11 December 2006, well before the Liberal's softened their WorkChoices laws by introducing the so described Fairness Test, Brendan Nelson said,

"Through reforms to workplace relations, we have made it easier for employers and employees to step outside a combative union versus employer dichotomy and a one size fits all award system, to negotiate the arrangements that best suit them."

Brendan Nelson made the above comments in full knowledge that in May 2006 Government statistics showed that their centrepiece of the WorkChoices laws, Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), had cut:

  • at least one ‘protected award condition’ in 100% of AWAs
  • penalty rates in 63% of AWAs
  • shiftwork loadings from 52% of AWAs
  • overtime loadings from 51% of AWAs
  • annual leave loading from 64% of AWAs
  • allowances from 48% of AWAs
  • public holiday pay from 46% of AWAs
  • rest breaks from 40% of AWAs
  • any wage rises in 22% of AWAs - some for 5 years


Brendan Nelson is out touch on nuclear reactor power plants and the Kyoto Protocol.

In a speech on those matters on 18 April 2005 he said;

"Australia has rightly refused to sign the Kyoto protocol."

"But in addition to this, is it not time to consider in the longer term the most obvious power source, nuclear power?"

"It is not only in electricity production that nuclear energy offers potential for Australia. It could also be used to fuel water desalination on a large scale."



Brendan Nelson has no strength or belief in his position even on important matters like the reason for troops being in Iraq.

Iraq deployment linked to oil: Nelson (ABC Online 5 July 2007)

ABC Online Thursday 5 July 2007 reported that Brendan Nelson admitted "oil" was a factor for going to war in Iraq.

Reporter: Is the fact that Iraq is a major supplier of oil a factor in why Australia has to stay there?

Nelson: Well, the defence update we're releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia's defence and security, and resource security is one of them, and obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world, and Australians and all of us need to think well what would happen if there were a premature withdrawal from Iraq.


Iraq never about oil: Nelson (ABC Online 6 July 2007)

Only one day later, on Friday 6 July 2007, ABC Online reported that Brendan Nelson said;

"Iraq has never been about oil"


Brendan Nelson was Minister for Education, Science and Training under the Liberal/Coalition Government from November 2001- January 2006, more than 1/3rd of the entire period of 11 1/2 years of the Liberal/Coalition Government.

On 27 June 2005 during an interview on ABC Four Corners program ‘The Degree Factories’ that investigated the Australian university system, the following exchange occurred;

Reporter Ticky Fullerton: Do you see university education as a right or a privilege?

Brendan Nelson: I think that it's a privilege. I think all of us need to appreciate that having university education is not something that any of us should ever take for granted.

During the 11 1/2 year period Australia's skills crisis has become critical.

  • On the past Liberal Government’s own estimates, Australia faces a skills shortage of more than 200,000 skilled workers over the next 5 years.

  • Since the past Liberal Government’s spending cuts in 1998, 325,000 Australians have been turned away from TAFE colleges.

  • In the 2004 election campaign the Liberals promised to solve the skills crisis by setting up so-called Australian Technical Colleges. After three years, they have only 1,800 enrolments, only 2 out of 21 colleges are meeting enrolment targets and they are costing $175,000 per student. Not one student has graduated yet.

  • The skill shortage is hampering small business and impacting on long term economic growth and prosperity.

During the 11 1/2 year period Australia's education OECD rankings have dropped, and the cost of a university degrees is beyond the hope of the young people.

  • The 2008 Good Universities Guide shows that there are more than 100 full-fee paying degrees at public universities costing upwards of $100,000, with 2 degrees at public universities costing more than $200,000.

  • HECS debt has nearly tripled from $4.5 billion to nearly $13 billion.

  • The HECS cost of a university degree increased by between $7,500 and $30,000 under the Liberal/Coalition Government.