Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Protecting the integrity of the modern award system ensuring workers are properly compensated is at the core of the Labor Party and the labour movement. Young workers in my electorate of Hasluck, like Patrick Hunt, deserve their penalty rates. Patrick is a proud member of the SDA. In fact, he just celebrated his 17th birthday last week, so he's still on a youth wage. Without his penalty rates, he would see substantially less of his wages. As Patrick's mum said:

Penalty rates make working weekends worth it for Patrick. It makes time away from family, long hours, late nights worth it.

We want people like Patrick to continue to receive the wages that he does in order to be able to serve us.

Penalty rates are not a luxury; they are recognition of the unsociable hours that hundreds of thousands of Australians, just like Patrick, are doing all around the country, be it in retail, in fast food, in pharmacies and in so many other sectors. They reflect the sacrifice of the weekends, the public holidays, the family time. For many workers, especially those on modest incomes, they are the difference between making ends meet and falling behind.

For many of my local volunteers, people like John Topliss, 'penalty wages mean the world'; those are John's words. John had worked in Midland Gate, just across from my office, and he had relied on those penalty rates he's received. When we made our election commitment on this issue, John told me that it means everything to him to have a local member who stands up for his rights at work. His penalty rates provided the security that got him through university and have provided him with the means to start full-time work with some savings in his pocket.

Another volunteer, Lucinda Bartlett, said, in her own words, that her dad and her granddad were also able to work through university because of penalty rates:

The sanctity of my study is preserved by law, protecting penalty rates from an opposition unfamiliar with the work study balance of modern young people.

As a full time student, studying 40 hours plus attending class and working 20 hours a week, penalty rates are not a luxury but what allowed me to attend class.

This move is not to protect against a theoretical harm; there is a very real threat to workers' wages from big corporations and those opposite me in this chamber.

The Australian Retailers Association and other big business organisations are at the Fair Work Commission seeking to have penalty rates scrapped for some workers in the retail sector. I extend a thank you to the SDA national secretary, Gerard Dwyer, for his work in this matter. Modelling by the SDA found that a typical retail worker working afternoon and evening shifts and working every second weekend would be more than $5,000 worse off under the Australian Retail Association's proposal. The SDA said:

The ARA and big business call this workplace 'flexibility'. We call this greed.

I couldn't agree more.

There is opposition to this bill, yet I believe that those opposite may find some issues in their own position. One of the issues that members of the Liberal and National parties have to deal with—and they have a few issues that they need to deal with—is their adulation for aspects of the governance of the USA that simply aren't working. Health care is one. How many members of the opposition would be happy to scrap Medicare and the PBS, to follow the broken American system? There aren't penalty rates in the USA. There's overtime if you've already worked a 48-hour week, but no mandated dispensation for working nights, holidays or weekends—unless you're counting tips. 'Land of the free', 'the freedom to choose'—we often hear that from members opposite. But, as usual, it's freedom you only get to enjoy if you can afford to pay for it.

The member for Goldstein pretends this legislation might mean workers are paid less. Our government has presided over real wage rises and over tax cuts for all workers. The coalition government of which the member for Goldstein was a part—perhaps he's forgotten—saw real wages go backwards over their nine-plus years in office. As the shadow minister for industrial relations and employment, he's criticised this bill—which is not a shock to anyone. He does not believe in protecting workers' wages and upholding the award safety net.

The now opposition leader, Sussan Ley, voted in favour of removing Sunday and public holiday penalty rates when she voted on the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill 2017. The opposition leader isn't really sure where to stand when there's a flag in the room but she has absolutely no doubt about looking at the flag at the top of the building, to see which way the wind is blowing.

We on this side want to protect the safety nets we have in place. We want to protect workers' rights and their families. We don't want our hospitality workers working all night for drinks and just tips. This legislation protects penalty rates. It doesn't extend them but it ensures that they can't be given away under undue pressure. The legislation doesn't hold good businesses back but it does ensure that there are no workers left behind.

The Independent Education Union, which represents teachers and support staff in independent schools, has welcomed this legislation. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said that they welcome the protection of penalty rates for insecure and casual work. The ACTU has stated:

Our Government is finally stepping in to stop employers cutting penalty rates and protecting people's pay. This was a key election promise, and we thank the Albanese Government for making it one of their first priorities. We call on all political parties to respect the election's outcome and pass this law.

The member for Goldstein has stated that the coalition supports penalty rates. It's a meaningless statement if you're not prepared to vote to protect them. For us, it's a high-level principle, and that's what we're enshrining in this legislation.

Due to the composition of the workforce, this legislation will particularly assist those workers who are women, part-time or casual workers and especially those under the age of 35, like Patrick. The Australian Business Journal stated last week:

For many Australians, especially those in hospitality, retail, health, and transport, penalty rates make a significant difference to their weekly earnings. The government's move to protect penalty overtime rates aims to offer certainty for these workers, ensuring they are not disadvantaged by any award changes or enterprise agreements.

It also sends a strong signal that the safety net for vulnerable workers cannot be eroded through backdoor mechanisms that leave employees worse off financially.

Essential research polling suggests that 70 per cent of Australians see protecting penalty rates as a critical workplace issue. This demonstrates the support for this legislation felt around the country. We all know someone who benefits from their penalty rates. It may be a family member, friend or worker at the local store. Many of these workers rely on their penalty rates to actually get by. They rely on the penalty rates to pay their bills, their fuel, their rent and their child care or to get through their studies. They deserve to have those wages protected, and the Albanese Labor government is committed to doing just that.

In our first term, the Labor government gave workers the right to disconnect. The Albanese Labor government ended the forced permanent casual loophole, providing a proper pathway to conversions for casuals who want it. The Albanese Labor government criminalised intentional wage theft, and now the Albanese Labor government is protecting the penalty rates of Australian workers. Defending workers rights is the blood of the Labor Party. For as long as there is an opposition that threatens workers' rights, there is the Labor party, protecting Australian workers' rights and their wages. I commend the bill.

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