Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Liberal and National parties want to end the weekend. They don't want Australians to have downtime. They don't want workers to be able to spend time uninterrupted with their families. They want workers to be on call all the time 24/7—no switching off the phone, no turning off the email—and, of course, all unpaid. They want unpaid overtime any time, with no notice and no agreement, 24/7. Those opposite say, 'You're on call—no weekend for you!' They want Australians to work longer and earn less.

We know that wage suppression was a deliberate part of the economic strategy of those opposite—if you can call nine deficits in a row an economic strategy! They voted against every measure to get wages moving. They were horrified by our plan to give tax relief to low- and middle-income workers. They don't care that 84 per cent of Australian taxpayers will be better off. The deputy opposition leader said that they would roll back the tax cuts. They want Australians to work more, earn less and keep less of it.

For the permanent casual workers, those opposite don't want them to have job security. They don't want them to be able to get a mortgage or make plans for their future. They want to keep casual workers insecure, hungry and dependent. The Liberal and National parties stand for lower wages, higher taxes, no weekends and insecure work. The Albanese government stands for higher wages, being paid for the hours you work, lower taxes and a secure future.