Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk about this motion on penalty rates with great pleasure. We just heard the member for Bendigo, who raised this motion, talk on this issue. I believe that the member for Bendigo has absolutely no credibility on this issue whatsoever.

In her maiden speech I heard the member for Bendigo get up and say:

I believe that it is the role of government to reduce the number of employees who are being forced to become contractors instead of working for a boss.

This is what the member for Bendigo said in her first speech to parliament. Well, member for Bendigo, that is not the role of government. It is not your role to tell employees, or those people on Newstart, how they should be employed and under what conditions. It just goes to show that this member, who is now the shadow assistant minister for workplace relations, is totally out of her depth, and she should resign from that position. If the Labor Party came back into government one day, God help us if she is appointed as the workplace relations minister because she does not have a clue as to what is going on—and that is evident from her maiden speech.

We in the coalition have said right from the beginning that it is not up to us individual members, like the member for Bendigo, the member for Petrie or anyone else here, to decide on penalty rates. It is actually up to the Fair Work Commission. Of course we know that when Bill Shorten was the Minister for Workplace Relations he put that into law. As the minister, Bill Shorten established the 2012 review of the Fair Work Act which considered penalty rates and even recommended that arrangements for penalty rates on certain public holidays be reformed. They changed they way penalty rates were set. Bill Shorten as minister amended the Fair Work Act to require the Fair Work Commission to specifically review penalty rates. The member opposite says that we need to be making submissions or that we have not made a submission and that we need to join their submission. Quite frankly, it is not up to government to bully the Fair Work Commission into your way of thinking. You are saying that we had a particular issue, or that employers are bullying people; you are actually bullying the Fair Work Commission and you cannot open your mind to look at where some of these issues need to change.

If you particularly want to stand up for workers rights then you need to look at some of the unions, perhaps, that are bartering away penalty rates. And what for? For their own benefit—to line their own pockets. You need not look any further, member for Bendigo, than your own leader, Bill Shorten, when he was head of the AWU. We all know what he did with Cleanevent and for cleaners. If you want to talk about how you can stick up for cleaners in your electorate, then think about what Mr Shorten, Leader of the Opposition, did when he was with the AWU. He said, 'Sure. Don't worry, Cleanevent. You don't have to pay penalty rates. You don't have to pay any penalty rates. Just slip us a lazy 25k a year into the Australian Workers' Union, and we'll turn a blind eye.' You have the audacity to come in here and say the government is responsible! If you got into government and if you had your way, employment would go right through the roof.

Ms Chesters interjecting—

Unemployment! Unemployment would go through the roof—sorry. You got me there, member for Bendigo. I hope employment does go through the roof because that is what we are here for. As the member for Petrie, the member for Bendigo, the member for Lily and everyone else in this chamber, we want to create an environment in which business can employ, not create an environment where you tell workers how they should be employed.

There are specific examples—I will give you one right now if you are listening, member for Bendigo and member for Lilley. When I was growing up, young people would often work on a Thursday night and a Saturday morning. They would be in year 10, 11 and 12. They would often do a part-time job. Now, of course, we have supermarkets open Monday to Friday. But I know examples where young people in year 11 would work on a Saturday. They would start on a Saturday and do eight hours work, and they would get paid. But what happened when the Fair Work Commission came in at some point? Now, even without doing any hours during the week, on a Saturday they start on time and a quarter from the very first hour—nine o'clock, eight o'clock in the morning. Then it goes to time and a half; then after 12.30 it goes to double time. So a student that was getting an eight-hour shift on a Saturday is now only getting a four-hour shift because a small business closes after four hours. The small businesses that you spoke about in your maiden speech, member for Bendigo, with your parents and so forth, where you had to work on a Saturday, you would not be able to employ a student if you were paying them double time on a Saturday.

I will say straight up: we believe in penalty rates, I believe that on a Sunday you should be paid penalty rates, I believe that on 38 hours or more a week you should be paid penalty rates. But we are here to provide jobs and growth. You need to open your eyes and learn a bit. (Time expired)

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