Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a reason you should come out to my patch. On a Sunday afternoon, shops would be shut in tourist towns like Stawell, Mildura and Swan Hill. Do you know who was missing out? It was the person who was working in that shop—they weren't getting a wage, because the shop was shutting.

Opposition members interjecting—

No, the invite is there. Come and have a look and talk to both the workers and the shop owners and you will know. You will find that the shops were shutting. That's just an example of how you have built an ideology, instead of actually coming and having a chat to the people involved. If those shops are choosing to shut because they can't afford to stay open—the takings aren't enough for those shops in those country towns—the worker misses out, the owner of the business misses out, and, ultimately, the town misses out. Ultimately, what I want is profitable shops. I want profitable shops that employ Australians. Ultimately, I think it's a very, very dangerous precedent to go down a pathway where you allow this chamber to pick people's wages. Just think about that for a moment. There is an independent commission. Governments and oppositions can put forward their points of view, but, ultimately, the commission makes the rulings, and their rulings need to be adhered to. I think this MPI is just tokenism. Be very careful of what you wish for, because it would undermine the welfare of workers right across Australia if Labor had their way.

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