Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

If those opposite want to vote against the loopholes, then I just say: defend them. Defend why it's fair for wage theft to not be a crime, if that's your position. Defend why it's fair for an enterprise agreement to be meaningless because you can just use labour hire to undercut it. Defend why it's fair for someone to be rostered as though they're a permanent employee but not have the right to convert. If you think it's fair to have these loopholes, then stand up and defend them. If you actually believe that some of the most vulnerable workers in Australia should have no minimum standards and should have to rely on tips to make ends meet, if that's the version of Australia that those opposite believe in—because I'll say that that's the version of Australia they intend to vote for—then defend the argument. But don't go running off and saying: 'Can we delay it? Can we complain about consultation?' Workers' rights will be fundamentally different, and loopholes will be closed or not. If your position is to keep the loopholes open, argue it and defend it.

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