Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Sunday, 700,000 Australian workers will again have their penalty rates cut by on average $77 a week. Yet again, the Turnbull government stands by and does nothing and supports this cut to low-paid workers' incomes in our country. The government has had eight chances, no less than eight chances, to vote to stop cuts to penalty rates in Australia, in the restaurant, catering and hospitality industries, and on all eight occasions the government has done nothing and voted to ensure that these penalty rates cuts occur.

Australian workers and their families are doing it tough. They are facing record levels of household debt, ballooning electricity costs and childcare and education costs, and wages growth is painfully low in Australia at the moment. Low-paid workers and their families are doing it tough. Most of those low-paid workers, unfortunately, are women. This is a further kick in the guts for those workers who are going to face on average a cut of $77 this weekend to their weekly incomes. The government stands by and allows this to occur. Well, Labor will fight for those low-paid workers. Labor will fight to protect penalty rates. I urge those members of the government who voted on eight occasions not to protect penalty rates to join with Labor and support the Leader of the Opposition's private member's bill to protect Australian workers' penalty rates.