House debates

Monday, 3 December 2018

Bills

Fair Work Amendment (Restoring Penalty Rates) Bill 2018; Second Reading

6:56 pm

Photo of Rob MitchellRob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Fair Work Amendment (Restoring Penalty Rates) Bill 2018. The government's penalty rates cuts have hit regional Victorian workers very hard, hurting the standard of living of over 147,000 Victorians. Under this government, over 15,000 McEwen residents who are working in retail, fast food, pharmacy and hospitality are worse off. Our electorate of McEwen is one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. But, while we are growing, we also have amongst the lowest income levels. One in six working residents of McEwen work in the retail and hospitality industries. That means that one in six people in McEwen are up to $3,273 a year worse off under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government penalty rate cuts.

Across my electorate I've spoken to countless residents who are concerned about this government's cruel cuts to penalty rates. Not only are they concerned for their own futures, but many parents and grandparents come up and say that they're worried about what's in store for their kids. They ask how their kids are going to be able to afford to buy a home, put food on the table or afford a holiday or some of life's little luxuries, when they go to work and, through this government's action, their penalty rates have been cut. Time and time again it's the older generation who are standing up for the younger generation and watching them get less and less under this government. They're wondering about what happens to families already under financial stress with the high cost of living and the high cost of housing. They see them having to work two and three jobs just to make ends meet. They're wondering whether, with all these cuts—the government's war on hardworking Australians—their grandchildren will ever be able to afford retirement. It is heartbreaking. This government is happy to throw future generations under the bus, to make them struggle to get off the ground in an environment where they're on the back foot from day one.

Everyday Australians are working tirelessly in our communities to make ends meet, yet the government has no problem in ripping money out of their back pockets—no problem at all. Let's remember that, at the time this was happening, those opposite gave themselves a tax cut of a minimum of $8,000—$8,000 to the highest paid workers in the land—and they took away penalty rates for hardworking Australians on low to middle incomes. It's an absolute disgrace, but it is what we've seen and come to expect from a government that cares nothing about ordinary Australians. Penalty rates affect real people in every corner of Australia, and the government refuses to open its eyes to the damage it's doing. We all know that the Liberals mantra to people suffering is, 'Just get a better job; get rich parents'. That doesn't work in the real world. We on this side understand not only that that is not always possible but also that we rely on workers doing these jobs. We understand that those working in retail, hospitality, fast food or even pharmacies may be holding down two or three jobs at a time just to pay the bills. We understand that those industries are here to stay and, for that, we must ensure that workers who are away from their homes and families on Sundays, who work hard to serve us on our days off, get a fair go.

When my father worked at the Herald Sun printing room, which he did for over 35 years, he would go to bed after a full night's work just as we were getting up in the morning. During my time at the RACV driving tow trucks, I worked Christmas Day and countless weekends—day shifts and night shifts. I know firsthand how difficult it is and the impact it has when you miss out on family birthdays or Christmas events—all the things that normal people get to share. Working unsocial hours just to put food on the table takes a toll. It means giving up normal family life, missing out on what we in Australia value, but for many in our community it's the only way they can afford to live.

The government have had countless opportunities to protect penalty rates and, each time, they have voted against them. If we keep this government around, Australian workers in retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy will continue to have their penalty rates cut—next July, the July after that and the July after that. Everything is going up in Australia, except wages. It's not good enough. Time and time again we hear the government say, 'We respect the independent umpire.' But just ask the thousands of truck drivers who had the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, the independent umpire, taken away. They'll tell you that the government believe in nothing but looking after their rich mates and bankers. You've only to look at what they've done in government. At every single opportunity they've attacked workers and families for the benefit of the big end of town and banks. Enough is enough! Australians, right across the land, are calling for an election now to end the mess that is this conservative government.

7:01 pm

Photo of Meryl SwansonMeryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Tonight I wish to speak on behalf of the 12,462 people in my electorate who have been affected by cuts to their penalty rates under this coalition government. One in five people who live in Paterson work in retail, hospitality, accommodation and other industries that are affected by these cuts. These are some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Contrary to what the government might believe, these are real people, with real families, who rely on their penalty rates to raise their families, pay their mortgages—that's if they can afford to have a mortgage—pay electricity bills, buy food and pay the many other bills that are going up and up under this government.

As of 1 July this year, the second round of penalty rate cuts has impacted some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in Paterson. On average, those in this group of over 12,000 people lost $77 a week. While on the surface that might not seem like much to some people, it can be the difference between living above or below the poverty line. Seventy-seven dollars a week, or $4,004 a year, is not a small sum of money to many people in my electorate; in fact, it's a big sum of money, especially coming into Christmas. It's the price of filling up the car with petrol every week, or buying some of the groceries for the family, or paying a child's sporting fees for the week. Fundamentally, many of my constituents rely on this sum of money to survive.

The cost of living is going up but workers' pay rates have been stagnating, and the Abbot-Turnbull-Morrison government doesn't seem to care. The 2017 Universities Australia Student Finances Survey showed that one in five students in regional areas, like my electorate of Paterson, regularly go without food and other necessities because of financial hardship. The same survey revealed that the majority of students, 83 per cent, support themselves through work—and that's a good thing. Students from regional areas, like those in my electorate, face significant shortfalls between their income and their expenses, yet the coalition government is doing absolutely nothing about it. While the Prime Minister may never know what it's like to rely on $77 a week just to get by, he should be ashamed of himself for imposing it on families, who know the pain very well. Seven hundred thousand workers in Australia are affected by cuts to penalty rates. And while this private member's bill was introduced by the Leader of the Opposition quite some time ago, it remains increasingly evident how important this bill is. Unlike the Morrison government, Labor understands that penalty rates are not a luxury—they are very much a necessity. I am proud to stand with the Leader of the Opposition as part of a really united team that is committed to restoring penalty rates in the first 100 days of a Labor Shorten government.

In real terms, this is what these cuts mean. It is actually interesting. I was at the airport last night coming to Canberra. There were big lines in the security queue because of the weather. The wind had delayed flights, and there were people all over the airport. There were queues, big waits, and people were frustrated. I overheard one of the security people who was at the X-ray machine looking at the luggage. She said to the other one, 'I think we'll be here to well beyond 10.30 or 11.00 tonight,' with a tone that implied that they had been there for many hours and they would be working overtime. She said to her colleague, 'Thank goodness it's a Sunday,' also implying they were being paid penalty rates. That's the difference—when people really are being put upon to change their lives, to work outside what most of us would consider a normal working week.

One of the other reference points I often make in this argument is that when children stop going to school, Monday to Friday, generally 9 to 3, then maybe we will be able to say there is no such thing as penalty hours or penalty rates. But I hope that never happens, and I would suggest that Monday to Friday, roughly 9 to 5, is still regarded as the working week. People that operate largely outside of those hours should be remunerated for the effort and the disadvantage that that causes for some of them and their families. To the 700,000 Australians who have been affected, I say to you: your voice matters, your living conditions matter, your vote counts and so do your penalty rates.

Debate adjourned.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:07