Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Abetz, Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Can the minister confirm that under the government’s workplace laws, jury service provisions, such as make-up pay and leave entitlements, can be removed from employment contracts? Doesn’t this mean that employees who are called up for jury service face a severe financial penalty as their employer is not required to continue to pay them? Aren’t there already reports of jurors seeking to be discharged from hearings due to financial hardship? In particular, is the minister aware of the case in the New South Wales District Court where a juror had to be discharged on the second day of a three-week trial due to financial hardship, requiring a new jury to be assembled and meaning consequent delays to the hearing? Doesn’t this demonstrate that the government’s workplace laws not only undermine fairness in the workplace but also undermine the foundations of our justice system?