House debates Questions without Notice
Workplace Relations
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:32 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to the government’s $55 million advertising campaign, which included the Work Choices booklet, which stamps the following entitlements—public holidays, rest breaks, incentive based payments and bonuses, annual leave loadings, allowances, penalty rates, shift/overtime loadings—as protected by law. I also refer to clause 20 of the Spotlight 2c an hour AWA, which includes: ‘This expressly excludes the operation of protected award conditions with respect to public holidays, rest breaks, incentive based payments and bonuses, annual leave loading, monetary allowances, penalty rates, loadings for overtime or shiftwork.’ Prime Minister, rather than being protected, aren’t all these gone for 2c an hour?
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
In the case, that could not be more wrong, because in the case of 38 out of the 40 workers employed at the Mount Druitt Spotlight firm all of those people went from being on the dole into a job that paid $355 a week—
Ms Catherine King Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury
Ms King interjecting
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
So, far from those conditions being gone for 2c a week—
Ms Catherine King Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury
Ms King interjecting
David Hawker Speaker
Order! The member for Ballarat will excuse herself under standing order 94(a).
The member for Ballarat then left the chamber.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing
Mr Pyne interjecting
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
So, far from certain things being gone for 2c an hour, these workers are $355 a week better off.