Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to associate myself with the words of the member on the opposite side and say that I would like to plead for a last minute reprieve for our two Australians on death row in Indonesia. It was wonderful this morning to join together with members from both sides of the House in a bipartisan way. Unfortunately my contribution to this debate is not going to be quite so bipartisan.

Yesterday was a national day of action and tens of thousands of workers came out to express their concern and opposition to the Abbott government's ripping out of services in the community—its action in relation to Medicare, education, all the public and community sector services, retirement security, and decent jobs and penalty rates. What we have seen is a government that is determined to undermine workers, and their pay and conditions.

When Tony Abbott came to power as Prime Minister, he said Work Choices was dead, buried and cremated. This week, he said that the Medicare co-payment—the GP tax—is dead, buried and cremated. We have seen how he has outsourced industrial relations to the Productivity Commission in the hope that they will deliver a report that will say that Work Choices was on the right track—that penalty rates should be attacked; that workers should not be paid penalty rates when they work at the weekends or on public holidays like Christmas day.

We on this side of the House oppose cuts to workers' penalty rates. We think that workers should get fair pay for a fair day's work.

Mr Taylor interjecting—

I notice the member for Hume sitting on the other side of chamber interjecting on what I am saying. He needs to get out in the real world and talk to real workers, and then he will understand just how much they depend on penalty rates. Without penalty rates, many people could not afford to pay off their mortgage; they could not afford to have a decent standard of living. Those on the other side of this House have absolutely no concept of how difficult it is for an ordinary, average Australian to survive. All they want to do is cut and attack pay and conditions.

I say that they stand condemned for that. I join with those workers.