Andrew Laming (Bowman, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A lot of very regrettable and avoidable argument goes on in this place between unions and employers, when in reality workers and their bosses get on well 99 per cent of the time. What we have in my electorate, of course, is the unions attempting to intimidate one of our non-profit sporting clubs because they have simply move from a penalty rate arrangement onto a wage bargained agreement.

This has been done using an authorised wage agreement that has been run through the fair work office. In fact, when we look at the commissioner who approved this wage agreement, it was a Bob Carr and Kevin Rudd Labor appointed New South Wales union representative in the commission who decided this wage agreement was completely fair and that workers were no worse off. It makes you wonder then why Queensland unions have decided to take on one sporting club for taking on this wage agreement.

If I can quote a letter from United Voice: 'United Voice will continue to campaign until penalty rates are reinstated.' It is not that the workers are better off or that they are earning more money; no, it is until penalty rates are re-established, because that is what unions really care about. 'The issue of penalty rates', says the union, 'reaches far beyond the sports club and is set to be widely debated leading up to the next election.'

In their final threatening and intimidator statement, complete with a dangling preposition at the end of it, they said: 'This debate is not one that I would think the Capalaba Sports Club would want to be at the centre of.' There; it is clear. They are going to take down this club if they have to, to make the simple point that they want penalty rates paid to workers—even if that is not what the workers want. Let's find out. What do the workers want? Thirty-seven out of 38 workers are straight back to work, because they know they are better off. One worker is not happy; therefore we have a union campaign.

We do not have workers queuing up around this sports club saying they are being unfairly treated. The workers are back at work. The workers are back looking after the tables, the pokies and the bar. The workers are even organising fundraisers for their colleagues, at the club, happily employed. Not good enough for the unions. Now we have an order to raid the club. That is right. They are going to raid a non-profit community club, run a social media campaign and drag this club through the mud.

They have walked away with copies of all of the payment agreements and have created a graph. Here is this pretty graph. But there are a few flaws in the union graph. It claims that if you are working at looking after the pokies or the bar you are going to be earning $58 an hour on a public holiday. Wrong. The union guy who made this graph did not realise that you do not double-time the casual loaded rate, you double-time the award rate. So the graph is complete rubbish.

Lastly, they could not even compare the award amount with the hospitality X amount. So we ended up with the truth provided by the club, complete with pay statements. It is: workers are better off under the new deal. Up goes the union campaign in smoke. (Time expired)