Hard Times

As an employer I have to say that these new Industrial Relations laws are going to be jolly good. Currently, if I want to hire an experienced performer I have to pay them a minimum of $766.39 per week. Even an inexperienced performer gets $707.81 per week. And then on top of all that I have to pay 102% additional for repeats and overseas and ancillary rights. It's a scam!

With these new laws I'll be able to pay them only $484.40 for the lot. Maybe less. And those savings go straight into my pocket. To make it even better any unemployed performers (and that means 90% of them) will have to accept the conditions or lose their unemployment benefits. Kevin Andrews - Federal Industrial Relations Minister - said so on the Insiders yesterday. How good is that? I mean, if you can't believe the word of a Howard government minister who can you believe?

I foresee the casting couch making a comeback. Definitely hard times ahead.