George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Moore, for that question. I have actually been away for the past week, and I have not been reading the Townsville daily bulletin. Senator Macdonald is not here, but I very seldom disagree—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Senator Wong, can you just be silent for a moment, so I can concentrate on your colleague's question. I very seldom disagree with anything that Senator Ian Macdonald has to say, because I find him to be a very wise member of this chamber. But, Senator Moore, since you raised the question about penalty rates, let me remind you what the effect upon the penalty rates of certain categories of workers has been as a result of the kinds of dirty, behind-the-shed union deals of which the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten, is such a champion.

We learned in the press this morning that a typical KFC worker would, as a result of the Fair Work Commission's determination of some days ago, receive an hourly rate of $24.30, but they will not be receiving that, as a matter of fact, because the relevant union has traded away their penalty rates so that they only receive an hourly rate of $21.19. As a result of the dodgy deals over which Mr Shorten and his mates in the trade union movement preside, those workers at KFC are more than $3.10 an hour worse off than they are under the new rates set by the Fair Work Commission for Sunday penalty rates.

And it is not just KFC. Let me give you another example from the fast food sector, and that it is a McDonald's worker— (Time expired)