"There are still too many loopholes in the government's safety net for it to provide the protection that working families need," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

The government refused to support Greens' amendments to fix a number of the glaring gaps that would have ensured a fairer and more robust safety net.

The Greens also moved amendments to ensure a minimum standard for redundancy pay based on the AIRC test case from 2004.

"Surprisingly the amendment received no support from either the ALP or the Democrats. It seems only the Greens truly see redundancy pay as a core minimum condition," said Senator Siewert.

"In contrast the government was happy to give Family First's Steve Fielding a political boost by supporting an amendment that merely preserved redundancy provisions - a move which will not achieve anything for most working families."

"It is not sufficient to merely "preserve" redundancy pay for 1 or 2 years. Redundancy pay has long been recognised as a right for all Australian employees and should be a minimum standard."

"The Greens believe a true safety net would apply to all AWAs, regardless of income, and would consider all conditions in a relevant award, not just the government's limited list," concluded Senator Siewert.

For more information or comment call Chris Twomey on 0407 725 025