House debates Questions without Notice
Workplace Relations
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
2:52 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his comments this morning about the Commonwealth Bank AWA. He said, ‘The AWA, I am told, does buy out several award conditions.’ That is a statement he repeated in his earlier answer. Isn’t it actually the case that the Commonwealth Bank Australian workplace agreement, not covered by the previous no disadvantage test and offered to employees in October this year, expressly excludes 46 award conditions, including—and I quote from page 1 of the schedule of the AWA, ‘protected award conditions excluded’: payment for working overtime, shift allowances, overtime, weekends and public holidays, annual leave loading, public holidays, minimum breaks, tea breaks, dry cleaning, allowances, meal allowances, meal breaks, breaks, basis of payment—
David Hawker Speaker
Order! I think the member for Perth has made his point. He will come to his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
I am, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister said there were several. There are 46 excluded. I am not proposing to list all of them.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
But I am proposing to list a substantial number.
David Hawker Speaker
I think the member for Perth has listed a fair number. The member for Perth will come to his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
On a point of order—
David Hawker Speaker
No. The member for Perth will just get on with his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
Fine. Basis of payment, premises renovation allowance, travel between work and home—
David Hawker Speaker
The member for Perth has made his point. He does need to provide unlimited information.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
I was proposing to make a point of order, if you want me to. I can either do the question or do the point of order.
David Hawker Speaker
I ask the member for Perth to come to his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
Domestic travel, travel allowance, assistance for employees transferred long distances, transfer expenses—
Kerry Bartlett Macquarie, Liberal Party
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Under standing order 91(d) and (e), the member opposite refuses to accept your authority, and I ask you to bring him to his question.
David Hawker Speaker
I thank the Chief Government Whip. He raises a valid point of order. I ask the member for Perth to come to his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
I have my own point of order, Mr Speaker. Questions are asked in accordance with standing order 100 and page 540 of House of Representatives Practice. They state:
Questions must not be debated.
I was not debating them. Also:
Questions must not contain ... arguments;
I was not arguing. Also, questions must not contain comments—there were no comments. They must not contain opinions—there were no opinions. And they may not become lengthy speeches. It was not a speech.
David Hawker Speaker
I think on that last point the member for Perth is getting fairly close.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
It is not a speech; it is a question.
David Hawker Speaker
I suggest that if the member for Perth wishes to ask his question he comes to his question. The member for Perth will come to his question.
Stephen Smith Perth, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations
With great reluctance, Mr Speaker. Prime Minister, isn’t this why you will not guarantee that no Commonwealth Bank employee will be worse off?
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I thank the member for Perth for that question. I have two responses. The first response is to read out to him a provision contained in the offer of an AWA by the bank. It contains this expression of choice:
If you are being offered employment by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, you may elect to accept that employment on the terms of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Employees Award 1999 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2002. You may obtain electronic access to a copy of these two documents.
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
In other words, what this demonstrates is—
Kim Beazley Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
And now we know!
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I do not think you know much about this. I do not think you know much at all. What this clause demonstrates very graphically and very directly is that these employees have a choice. They can either sign the AWA—and I will come to the contents of the AWA in a moment—or elect to be employed under the collective agreement and the enterprise bargaining agreement, both of which were formulated before Work Choices came into operation. In addition to that, it is not uncommon under workplace agreements that were approved prior to the coming into operation of Work Choices for certain award conditions to be bought off with higher salaries. What is offered here is a classic full range. You can be employed either under the enterprise agreement or under an arrangement that enables you to trade away some conditions in return for the opportunity of earning a higher salary.
That is the kind of arrangement that millions of Australians want. That is why, by the time of the next election, almost one million Australians will be employed under Australian workplace agreements that give them opportunity and incentive, and why those one million Australians will not want the recipe for chaos and reduction in their living standards being offered by the Leader of the Opposition. We know who forced the Leader of the Opposition to give that commitment before the ALP state conference in New South Wales in June of this year. He will go along to one of the rallies tomorrow and they will cheer him to the rafters because he promised to do everything they asked of him.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House
Mr Albanese interjecting
John Howard Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
But what he has neglected to do is what one million Australians ask of him—and that is to have the choice to better themselves by signing an Australian workplace agreement. If I were the Leader of the Opposition, I would choose a million Australians ahead of the union bosses of this country.