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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told business leaders he does not want disagreement over controversial industrial-relations changes to define the relationship between his government and the business community.
- The Prime Minister says he does not expect everyone to agree with the changes
- The government's industrial relations bill is set to pass parliament this week
- The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has labelled the bill "fundamentally flawed"
Mr Albanese made the remarks as debate on Labor's wideranging workplace-relations legislation continued in the Senate.
The legislation is expected to pass before the end of the week as the government has secured the support of independent ACT senator David Pocock.
In exchange for his support, the government agreed to Senator Pocock's request to boost safeguards for small and medium sized businesses and create an independent panel to undertake annual reviews on the levels of support payments — such as JobSeeker — ahead of each federal budget
Business representatives have staunchly opposed the changes, with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) describing the bill as "fundamentally flawed" and arguing it will burden businesses with extra costs.
Speaking to an ACCI gala dinner at Parliament House's Great Hall on Wednesday, Mr Albanese acknowledged the elephant in the room.
"It's fair to say I'm aware that there are elements of our plan with which you disagree," he said.
"No significant economic reform has ever enjoyed 100 per cent support."
"And I've always said that while I believe in the value of consensus, I certainly don't expect everyone to agree on every single element of every single issue."
Mr Albanese said the past six months had shown him the government and the business community shared "common goals" including strong employment growth, higher income growth, improved productivity and enhanced social inclusion.
"I don't think one point of disagreement needs to define our every interaction," he said.
"Our relationship is bigger than that, more important than that.
"The government I lead shares your ambition for a growing, fair, productive and inclusive economy."
Mr Albanese said despite ACCI's opposition to the changes the government would continue to seek its "cooperation", "insights" and "expertise".
"In particular, I think there is more that the private sector and every level of government need to do to guard against cybersecurity threats.
"Clearly, our national capacity isn't where it needs to be — and that's a serious issue for any business or government that holds people's private information.
"I think the more we can do to coordinate and cooperate on that, the better."