Kevin Rudd must be wondering what he did to offend the Gods of politics ! The Federal leader of the opposition and aspiring prime minister has been working hand in hand with his masters - the unions - to demonise Australian Workplace Agreements ( AWA's ) and convince the workforce that they will suffer decreased pay packets and lose hard won benefits if they sign on the dotted line.
Now it has been revealed that his wife - Millionaire Therese Rein - who owns job placement firms has disadvantaged sixty of her staff by moving them onto AWA's and stripping away award conditions in exchange for a paltry 45 c an hour. To compound the embarrassment - these staff people have been underpaid according to the prevailing law.
The Rudd's claim this is a simple " mistake " and have taken steps to fix it, but that does not relate well to the merciless condemnation of other business owners who have found themselves in a similar situation.
The revelation also raises another matter. Job placement firms are under contract to the Federal government to find jobs for the unemployed. There would be a definite conflict of interests if Kevin Rudd became prime minister and his wife was proprietor of a business engaged in tendering for such government contracts.
This is an unwelcome quagmire for a politician with an election looming and seriously damages his campaign against AWA's. Several solutions are available. Either the business would need to be sold - or put into a blind trust to be run at arms length by a disinterested party. Anything less would not satisfy the integrity of those elected to the parliament of this country !
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